


Ode to Power

by ShezNek



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: A bit unrealistic maybe but it's fanfiction so it doesn't count, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Grey moral compass, Kara Danvers is a gang leader, Kara Danvers is super smart, Kara Danvers isn't Supergirl, Lena Luthor fights for change, Lex Luthor wants to kill Lena, Mafia AU perhaps?, Mentions of drugs, Mentions of sexual workers, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Red Kryptonite Kara Danvers, Samantha "Sam" Arias & Lena Luthor Friendship, SuperCorp, There is no kryptonite but Kara has red kryptonite traits, characters may be ooc, karlena, tagging is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShezNek/pseuds/ShezNek
Summary: Lena is a walking target thanks to Lex. She only wants to bring change to the city, but to do so, she has to be alive. Enter Kara Zor-El Danvers, leader of the RedK turf. Lena doesn't know what to make of this mafia leader, who according to her family is her sworn enemy. For Kara, not everything is black or white, and Lena Luthor might be what she needed to change National City for good.Sorry for the lame summary. Give it a try. This plot bunny just begged to be born.
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, minor Alex Danvers/Samantha "Sam" Arias
Comments: 36
Kudos: 117





	1. Salva Nos

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my very first work in the Supergirl/SuperCorp fandom. I've written in other fandoms but it's been ages since I've published a new work. I'll try to post my past works here on AO3 as well. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this piece.  
> Truth be told, I've never watched Supergirl, but I've read a lot of fanfic and watched videos on YouTube. So, I apologize beforehand is some of the characters are a bit OOC.  
> I've always wanted to read more of Red Kryptonite Kara, so I thought I'll give it a try. 
> 
> This work is not beta-ed so all mistakes are my own! Although, if someone wants to be my beta, please be my guest!  
> Enjoy!

Lena wasn’t sure how she ended in this situation. Although, she had a clear idea of who could be the one to blame, and as of lately, the culprit was Lex. Since she had testified against him at his trial, he’s been making her life miserable, more so than usual. However, she never thought in all her dreams she’d be heading to the lion’s den in company of Sam. Not her family’s lion’s den mind you, but that of their sworn enemies, or so the Luthors had always said.

She couldn’t help to think back on the circumstances that led to this.

******* Flash back *******

Lena was just about to start her press conference near the newest rebranded L-Corp building. She’d speak about the changes her technology would do to help treat and possibly cure cancer, the new plans for the children hospital, among other topics that L-Corp would be doing now that she decided to deviate from the horrible ways his brother had used the company for.

Samantha Arias - or Sam as she called her since she was her sole friend in all the city - was standing near the podium with her. Sam was appointed as CFO, so if Lena had to step down at some point from being the CEO, she knew that L-Corp would be in good hands.

The press conference started without a hitch, and Lena was able to answer as many questions as she could, even those that were clearly made to rile her up, discredit her, doubt her or simply to associate her with Lex and his nefarious ways; but then one of the “journalists” that was given the word, asked.

“Have you thought that today you might die?” and without hesitation, they drew a gun, pointed it right at Lena and fired.

Lena didn’t know what followed next. One minute she was staring right at the end point of the barrel of a gun, the next, she was on her side seeing how her security subdued the perpetrator. She then heard Sam calling her name.

“Lena! Come on. We have to go! It’s not safe to stay here.”

Lena stood up with Sam’s help and with a pair of guards escorting them, they headed to the L-Corp building and straight to Lena’s office. Lena was still in a daze. She was shot. Again. And thankfully she made it out alive. Again. This time thanks to Sam. Sam had seen the gun just after the fake journalist took it out and fired, with her fast reflexes she had run to Lena and pushed her down, hence saving her life.

“Should I change your title then? From CFO to bodyguard?” said Lena raising a brow at Sam.

“Hardy har har. Not funny, Lena. This is getting out of hand.”

“You do understand that we Luthors have many enemies.”

“Not when it’s someone with the same name doing it.” said Sam with a hand going thought her hair “This is the fifth time this month. They’re getting bolder. And at some point, you’ll run out of luck.”

“I know.” conceded Lena “But I just can go hide under a rock. I knew that I was getting into the moment I testified against Lex.”

“Did you?” asked Sam uncertain “Were you really ready to be targeted by your own brother? Did you really think he’d go this far? To hire anyone to kill you?”

Lena stared at Sam and drew a deep and shaking breath. The truth was that Lena wasn’t ready for this at all. She never imagined Lex would have gone so mad that he’d try to kill her. In his eyes, she had betrayed him, all the family, by speaking against him at court. It hurt to think that the brother who played with her and taught her many things had now placed a target on her back.

“It doesn’t matter.” replied Lena. It’s not that she didn’t trust Sam, but she didn’t want to think more about this. It hurt and she wasn’t ready to face it, at least not today.

“It does matter, Lena. But I guess I won’t get you to talk today about it. However, we must do something about this situation.”

“I can see you have something in mind. Care to share?”

Sam stayed pensive a moment. She did have an idea. It was crazy and dangerous in so many ways, but it was also maybe their only hope. Which could also be a chance for change. And Lena was fighting for change, a good change. Not bad Luthor type of change.

“I can’t tell you. So, I can only ask, do you trust me?”

Lena looked right at Sam. Sam’s eyes and face remained stoic, but Lena could feel some anxiety coming from her, as if Sam herself wasn’t sure of the plan she had in mind. Despite everything, Lena had her answer. Smiling briefly at Sam she said.

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have made you my CFO.”

Sam chuckled at the attempt of humor.

Before they headed out of L-Corp, they gave the police their statements and learnt that the perpetrator died after Lena’s security had subdued him. They didn’t kill him, the fake journalist died by their own hand, or pen would be more precise. Quite ironic really. The fake journalist had munched their pen, which had a small and secret compartment with a cyanide tablet inside. And here Lena thought that spy movies were out of trend.

At hearing this, it only reaffirmed Sam’s resolve to continue with her plan. Sam took her own car to drive them to their destination.

“We can’t take a L-Corp car. It’s not safe. And it’s better if I drive, the less people know where we are going, the best.” was Sam’s explanation.

Lena was seating on the passenger seat and looked out the window. She noticed they were heading south of the city. Which was quite an unexpected place, especially because Luthors and the south part of the city were like water and oil.

*********** End of Flashback *********

After a couple of minutes of more driving, Sam parked the car on the curb on a quite deserted street. Sam had not said a word since they had left L-Corp, and Lena had so many questions for her. The most important one being if Sam was out of her mind. Did she really just drive Lena to the RedK turf part of the city? At this point, Lena was sure that it would’ve been safer to stay at L-Corp and wait for the best, maybe Lex would tire and leave her alone. Here? Lena was pretty sure that the moment she stepped out of the car; she was a dead woman.

Before she could say anything, Sam had opened the door and left the vehicle, not uttering a word, simply expecting Lena to follow suit. Which she did. She had no other choice but to blindly trust Sam at this point, more so in this place, where she was probably considered the most wanted person. If this were the wild west, she had no doubts that her face would be on those wanted dead or alive posters.

Lena walked right beside Sam, maybe if they were seen together, they wouldn’t be ambushed. Sam walked with purposeful strides, seemingly knowing the way, which surprised Lena quite a bit. She didn’t expect Sam to be familiar with the area. They hadn’t walked more than two hundred meters when they stopped right outside a Chinese restaurant. The sign at the door showed it was closed, but apparently this didn’t matter to Sam, who simply pushed the door open and with a move of her head signaled Lena to get inside too.

Despite the closed sign, the scent of food filled the air, as well as the sound of pans and sizzling coming from the kitchen. Sam and Lena walked to a booth with a semicircular shape located at the very back of the restaurant. There were some other patrons on the other tables around – seating alone or in pairs – who glanced at them, but left them alone the moment they spotted Sam at her side. Lena found it odd, but was not about to question it if it meant she would make it out of there without a scratch.

There was a woman seating at the booth. Her head was down, it looked like she was reading an article. Wait, was that CatCo magazine? Peculiar and unexpected, considering the reputation of the woman. She had blonde hair reaching beyond her shoulders that was tied on a ponytail, broad shoulders accentuated by the white shirt she wore. The top buttons were undone, as well as the knot of her red tie. The sleeves were rolled up, showing her incredible arms. She would have looked intimidating if it wasn’t for the fact that she was stuffing her mouth with potstickers one right after the other, barely chewing them while smiling at whatever content it was she was reading.

Sam cleared her throat to draw the woman’s attention. When the woman raised her head, Lena could see her mesmerizing blue eyes, a gorgeous blue that not even the most beautiful sea could compare. Those eyes were framed by a pair of thick black glasses, but were unable to hid the coldness and fierceness in them. Her face with perfect features that only the most talented sculptor might be able to replicate after a thousand attempts. Even with all her beauty, Lena couldn’t help but gasp at recognizing the identity of this woman. Turning her head towards her companion she said, her voice full of shock.

“Sam! Did you really just bring me to Kara Zor-El Danvers? Head of the Zor-El family and leader of the RedK turf? You know, the sworn enemy of the Luthors?”

At least Sam had the decency to look chastised by Lena’s tone.

“I know how this looks like Lena, but I’m afraid she’s your best shot at keeping you safe, and most importantly, alive.”

Lena couldn’t believe Sam. Had she gone just as mad as Lex? How was she able to walk in here without trouble? How did she know where Kara Zor-El would be? She didn’t remember Sam calling anyone before they left. There were many questions swarming Lena’s head, but before she could ask them, a deep and commanding voice drew her attention to the mafia leader, who was now sitting straight on the booth, with her elbows and intertwined hands resting over the table, and a mocking smile adorning her lips.

“Welcome to RedK turf, Lena Luthor.”

Lena’s green eyes locked with Kara’s blues, as a shiver ran down her spine. Which type? Whichever it might be, it didn’t abide well for her.


	2. Les Soldats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena interact.  
> Sam makes a request.  
> Lena doesn't know what to think about Kara.  
> Kara calls for a meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos left! Don't forget to comment. Comments make writers happy. And a happy writer is most likely to rush a chapter. Maybe. Enjoy this second chapter.

Kara was enjoying this too much. Seeing Lena’s face trying with all her will-power to seem unfazed, to seem in control, to feel that she was not about to bolt from the place. Kara had heard many things about Lena Luthor, one of them being her beauty. Of course, she had seen pictures, but in this case, the saying that a picture didn’t do justice to the real thing was very, very true.

She couldn’t help but stare at her. Who could blame her? She was a useless pan, and she was ready to appreciate someone’s gorgeousness if chance arose. The contrast between Lena’s dark hair and her pale skin was magnificent. Not even contemporary art pieces could achieve it. And her eyes! Rao’s light! Such a vibrant and mesmerizing shade of green. She was sure that she had not seen anything similar before; not in jewels, not in forests, not in minerals. Really, she had nothing to compare it to. Her features were also perfect. Even if Lena’s jaw was clenching so hard as if it was about to break, she found it lovely. Her other attributes were quite a joy to take in. Maybe she should read Sappho once again so she could be more adept at describing how breath-taking Lena was.

Right now, they were staring at each other. Their gazes locked as in battle, waiting for the other to yield first. Kara supposed that since Lena was her guest at this moment, she’d concede her the victory. Mind you, just this once. Tearing her blue eyes apart, she focused on Sam and said.

“So, Sam. What’s the meaning of this? Not that it’s an unpleasant surprise.”

Upon listening to Kara talk to Sam in such an informal and maybe friendly manner, Lena turned her gaze with a questioning look and her patented raised eyebrow. Sam decided to ignore Lena for the moment, she really did have some explaining to do.

“I apologize for interrupting your lunchtime, tynth.”

“Tynth?” asked Lena.

“It means boss.” replied Kara with an insufferable smile.

“Wait, what? Boss?” said Lena, unable to contain her shock “Sam, what the hell is going on here?”

“Oh, look at that, she has claws. I like that.” Kara said with a grin.

“Shut it! I’m not talking to you.”

Not a second after Lena said these words, the sound of chairs scrapping against the floor could be heard, and some of the people sitting around were standing up. Also, Lena did not miss the not so subtle movement of their hands going inside their jackets, blazers or the back of their pants.

With a simple movement of her hand and an intimidating glare, Kara deescalated the situation and everyone went back to whatever they were doing.

“It will do you good to remember that there’s no harm to be done to my guests. Until I decide you are not.” said Kara with a steel and commanding tone in her voice. Also, her eyes were barely concealing an aggressiveness that spoke volumes of the authority she had in this place. Not for nothing she was the head of the family.

Lena felt a bit intimidated, but for some unfathomable reason, she felt a pleasant shiver run down her spine. Although she would deny this was the second time it happened in less than an hour.

Sam let out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding. Squaring her shoulders, she addressed Kara once again.

“I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t think it was important, tynth. As you know, Lena is being targeted by Lex Luthor. Just this month the tally of assassination attempts has been five.”

“Five that made it close enough to be considered attempts. You haven’t counted the completely failed ones that didn’t come to be. If we count those, the number goes up, not by much, mind you.” Kara said as she leaned back on the booth.

“Are you implying there have been more?” asked Lena.

“Not implying, I’m sure of it. But Sam, what does this have to do with anything? My people got hold of some of those attempts, I’m well informed and aware of the situation; so, if you could get to the point. I want to finish my meal; you know how much I hate to waste good food.”

“Right, sorry. I brought Lena here because this is the safest place for her right now, and I thought that you could offer her protection.”

Kara stared right at Sam. As if reading her and taking her apart. Analyzing her request.

“And do tell Sam, why would I do it? Why would you request such a thing?”

“You’ve always said how the Luthors have been a bunch of incompetent fools for wasting the potential of an unparallel asset like Lena. How undeserving they are of having her in their family and sharing their name. But most importantly, she is my friend. No, she is my family too.”

Lena couldn’t believe all what Sam had said. Has the leader of the Zor-El family expressed that much interest in her? So much that she’s ranted to Sam about it? And Sam considered her family? She never believed she would be part of a family again, yet Sam here was quick to proclaim so.

After a pause that felt longer than it really was, Kara took hold of her chopsticks again and before grabbing a potsticker she said.

“I see. A very compiling argument.” pointing at the chairs in her own booth she continued “We’ll discuss it further at the Fortress, in the meantime, do join me for lunch. Order whatever you want.”

And then Kara went back to eating and reading, after summoning the waiter and ordering another set of potstickers.

Lena and Sam exchanged looks of disbelief as they took their seats at the booth of one of the most powerful gang leaders in National City.

Even if this meeting went fine, and by Kara’s words it seemed that she’d considered Sam’s request to heart, Lena had a feeling that she wasn’t out of the woods quite yet.

* * *

After their more than awkward meal, they left the restaurant. To Lena’s surprise, the owners weren’t afraid of Kara and her people; in fact, they seemed to welcome the woman. And Kara’s features became soft for a moment, showing gratefulness and pride. It was quite an astonishing interaction. How could it be possible that these people weren’t afraid of someone as ruthless as Kara?

Lex and Lillian had been very vocal in their distaste for the gang leader and her crew. Saying how many of the problems in the city were to blame to the RedK syndicate. All the drugs, prostitution, crime, and various other felonies were their doing, if they could get rid of them, National City would be a better place. Hence, the Luthors had done all in their power to eradicate them. That’s why they were sworn enemies. When the Luthors tried to do any type of action in the south part of the city, which was RedK turf, Kara would retaliate. It had been an on-going conflict, until Lex and Lillian were sent to prison. Truthfully Lena wasn’t that familiar with this feud, she only knew what her family told her, but she never had any interest to confirm the information. Now though? Her intuition was telling her that once again, the Luthors had only said what they considered the truth and what was convenient to their personal interests.

Sam and Lena boarded their car, and Sam drove them to what Kara had called the Fortress, which were their headquarters. As Sam drove, Lena couldn’t help but ask.

“Isn’t she concerned I will know their location and give it out to the authorities? I was quite expecting them to gag me, put a bag on my head and throw me in a van so I wouldn’t know where we were going.”

“Quite frankly, Kara doesn’t need to do any of that. She’d know right away if you did, and she would send someone who would be successful to silence you, unlike the goonies sent by your brother, or maybe she’d do the job herself. Yeah, that’s probably more like it.”

“How come do you call her by her name? Which reminds me, how did you know where to find her? Why did you call her ‘boss’? You have quite the explaining to do, Sam. You’ve been lying to me about who you are, haven’t you?” said Lena with hurt in her voice.

“I guess I have. And I apologize about it. I know how you hate lies, but it was nothing against you, I swear. If anything, I couldn’t say a word with Lex around. If he got word of me, the ‘zrhythrev’ would have been in danger, and you too.”

“The zrhy-what?”

“The clan, or family. Anyway, I met her way before I got the job at Luthor Corp. She helped me and Ruby when we needed it. She welcomed us into her ‘zrhythrev’ and since then we’ve been working together.”

“Sam, did she force you into it? Is she holding you onto something to do what she wants?” Lena couldn’t help but put a hand over Sam’s arm in a reassuring way “If she’s doing it, I’ll do everything in my power to free you from it, gang leader or not.”

“Thanks, Lena. But that’s not necessary. I meant what I said and how I said it, she really welcomed us. I was in a bad place, and didn’t know what to do. In fact, I reached out for her, and Kara was just there, ready to help us.” Sam paused a moment, reminiscing that time when Kara gave her a place in her family. No conditions, no threats, no nothing. Just a helping hand. “I know it sounds unbelievable, but Kara is not as bad as the heartless and blood thirsty monster everyone makes her to be.”

Silence filled the car and stretched for a long moment. Lena wasn’t sure what to say. She knew Sam well enough to detect when she was lying, but hearing her speak almost fondly of Kara make her head spin. The information she had about Kara – as few as it was – was clashing with what Sam just said.

“You know that when all of this is over, you’ll have to tell me everything about it, right?”

“Of course. I’ll even get the good wine. Now as CFO, I think I can buy something that your CEO palate might enjoy.” replied Sam with a small laugh and a smile. “But first, let’s make sure you get to live another day.”

“Do you think that Zor-El will agree to your request? Will she really give me protection?”

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but if she wasn’t willing, we wouldn’t be heading to the Fortress. She would have had someone escort us to the exit of the restaurant right then. Kara doesn’t do anything half-baked, and doesn’t like to waste her time in pointless things.”

“Do you think that in return of keeping me safe, she’ll force me into a dreadful deal?” asked Lena with uncertainty.

“Lena, will all due respect to you; Kara is not Lex or Lillian.” said Sam with a biting tone.

And with that the conversation was over. Lena couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed. What has Kara Zor-El done to have this much loyalty and respect from Sam? It wasn’t just the respect an underling had for their leader; it was something else. Not even she had this kind of loyalty for her family, neither did they have any loyalty towards her.

In no time they made it to a small building, not more than seventh stories tall. It was all crystal windows, it gave it an ethereal air, and made the interior look brighter and more open. There were some people going around doing tasks, like this was a common office building. Definitely, this wasn’t what Lena expected at all from a gang hideout. Sam could see right though her because she asked.

“Not what you had in mind?”

“Not really. I thought we’d be going to a torn-down warehouse by the docks, full of cobwebs and dust. You know all gloomy and threatening.”

“Well, just because it looks like this doesn’t mean it can’t be quite threatening when needed, so don’t let appearances fool you. Height is just an illusion, it’s not important; what matters is what is underground. Anyhow, let’s go. We shouldn’t make Kara wait.”

Sam took the lead and guided Lena to a small hallway just behind the main elevators, where another more private elevator door was. It seemed that only people with special access could use it, for it didn’t have a normal button, but what looked like a biometric panel. Lena was fascinated with it; it didn’t resemble anything Lena has seen before. Not even the ones she’d created to protect her most valuable projects, it was a bit more complex than those. It didn’t ask for a fingerprint but for a full palm scan, also, Sam did have to come close to a panel that was at her eye-level, so maybe a retina scanner as well? And just after punching a code did the door opened.

“It looks like Kara Zor-El likes to be a bit extra with the security.” said Lena after entering the elevator behind Sam. “Even if it was quite impressive, I bet you I can override those now that I’ve seen them.”

“As I said, don’t let appearances fool you.” Sam said with a challenging smile.

“Right. I guess I’ll keep it in mind this time.”

The ride wasn’t long, they made it to the top floor – the seventh – and exited. It looked like any other traditional bullpen of a company, although most of the desks were empty and quite apart from each other. There was a board room as well, bigger than the regular boardroom; yes, even bigger than the one Lena had at L-Corp. And lastly a main office with a couple of monitors on the walls, a large desk and a couple of couches with a coffee table in the middle. Lena wondered if that was Kara’s office. Even if it was, the normalcy of it was surprising. It didn’t look personalized at all, like the furniture there was part of a showroom, just to fill the space and make it look used.

Sam led Lena to the boardroom, where Lena could see some people already waiting there. Upon entering, Lena noticed that the boardroom’s equipment was top-notch, and for a second, she felt a bit jealous. She knew she had great equipment at L-Corp, as it was a company worth millions of dollars, yet, here, Kara had almost the same high-technology, if not maybe better.

Before she could wonder how they managed to get all this technology in their hands, a young woman with long hair wearing a nice combination of a sundress with a cardigan greeted Sam.

“Sam! Nice to see you! How’s Ruby?”

“Hi, Nia! Same.” replied Sam giving this Nia a hug “Ruby is still going sassy since you last saw her.”

“I love that kid. Hey, you know why Kara called us here? It was so sudden to have this meeting out of the blue. Good thing that no-one had left when she summoned us.”

“I’m not sure either what she’ll say, but I hope it’s related to a request I made.”

“You did a request?” said Nia surprised at Sam’s words “It must had been important. You’ve never requested anything from Kara.”

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

Lena watched the interaction with fascination. It didn’t seem like a common talk between colleagues. Like many conversations made just out of politeness when seeing a co-worker after a long time, this one had a different air about it. If Lena dare say it, it was like talking among family.

“And who’s this?” asked Nia to Sam to then look at Lena with a smile.

“Nia, this is…” began to say Sam only to be interrupted.

“Lena Luthor.” interrupted Kara, entering the room. Looking right at Nia, she said in a teasing tone “Will I have to send you back to the training rooms to re-learn this basic information, Nia?”

Nia just blushed a little and shook her head side to side. Before anything else could be said, a young man with dark hair reaching below his chin and dark eyes spoke.

“Everything is ready, tynth. We may commence at your word.”

“Thanks, Brainy.” replied Kara sitting at the head of the table. “Where’s everyone else? I thought I made it clear I wanted them here by the time I arrived.”

“Alex, Lucy and Winn will be on video-call and are ready for you to begin, J’onn is still out of town and couldn’t be reached. And Kelly is just finishing with her last patient, she’ll come up as soon as she’s done.” replied Nia reading a clipboard to then hand it to Kara.

“The girl from last week?” asked Kara reading the information given by Nia.

“Yes.”

Lena noticed then a frown forming between Kara’s brows as her eyes took that steely gaze again. Her grip on the clipboard also tightened, like it was the only thing anchoring Kara’s anger from unleashing.

“Alright. Can I assume that you’ve handled the situation accordingly, Nia?” said Kara while giving the clipboard back, her eyes locking with Nia’s. Still full of rage but not at the young woman.

“Of course, tynth.”

“Well done.”

Nia just nodded at took her place at the table, next to the man Kara had called Brainy. Sam sat in front of them, and told Lena to sit by her side. Not a minute later, a tall woman with dark hair and skin entered the boardroom.

“Sorry I’m late. I had a session with a patient, but I didn’t want to cut it short. I apologize, Kara.” said the woman rushing to take her seat.

“It’s alright, Kelly. You did the right thing by finishing your session with the girl. After all, I asked you to focus on her case. Well done.” Kara smiled at Kelly for a brief second, to which Kelly nodded. “Now that we are all here, let’s start this meeting. Brainy.”

The man tapped in his tablet, and all the room became dark. The wall projector came to life showing three people on the screen, two women and a man. Upon seeing Kara, they nodded. It seemed that everyone of importance had arrived.

Lena leaned a bit closer to Sam and in a whisper she asked.

“Who are all these people?”

“We are Kara’s most important and loyal higher ups. We are Les Soldats.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> I really don't know how long this story will be, but it's a self-indulgent project more than anything.  
> I'm also winging it at this point, hence the difference in length of the chapters.  
> I used a bit of Kryptonian words for this, I looked them up online. So I apologize if there's some misuse on them.  
> I might also have used references from an anime. This is fanfic and AU, so I'll exploit that.


	3. Les Soldats II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara explains stuff about the RedK.  
> Kara makes a proposal.  
> Lena takes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, reviews and interest in this story. Without further ado, enjoy this chapter.  
> Any mistake/typo is my own.

_Lena leaned a bit closer to Sam and in a whisper she asked._

_“Who are all these people?”_

_“We are Kara’s most important and loyal higher ups. We are Les Soldats.”_

\-----------

Kara stood up and with a commanding voice she began.

“Let’s start this reunion.”

“Yes, tynth.” replied everyone as they placed one hand over their chest while folding their ring finger.

“My ‘zrhythrev’, I welcome you. I requested your presence to inform you my decision about a request done by our soldat ‘Reign’, and how we shall proceed about it.”

“I know your decision is indisputable, tynth. But can we know what Reign’s request was?” asked one of the women on video-call, she had short auburn hair, brown eyes, and fair skin.

“Of course, soldat ‘Agent’. Reign requested for Lena Luthor’s protection.”

“THE Lena Luthor?” asked with delight the man on the video. He had short hair and light green eyes. “CEO of L-Corp?”

“Yes, soldat ‘Toyman’. The one and only.” Kara said smiling.

“I’m right here, you know.” Lena said in an annoyed tone. She never liked when people talked about her as if she wasn’t present.

“Oh, feisty.”

“Soldat ‘Judicator’. Not now.”

“My apologies, tynth.”

“If you’ve called us here, then I presume you’ve agreed to it, right?” said Nia. 

“That’s correct, soldat ‘Dreamer’. As of this moment, the RedK zrhythrev will give Lena Luthor protection, and if she wishes, she’ll also be welcomed into the family.” replied Kara crossing her hands behind her back.

“What?!” exclaimed Lena standing from her seat, scandalized at the proposal. “I’m thankful for the protection, but there’s no way I’ll join a gang that’s only causing trouble to the city and doing harm to its citizens.”

“Uh…what gang is that?” Brainy asked, confusion showing in his face.

“THIS GANG! Also, my family is your sworn enemy! You always stroke back whenever Lex wanted to get rid of you to help this city.”

“Wow. She truly doesn’t know, does she?” murmured Dreamer.

“Now, Dreamer. Don’t be harsh on her. It was expected that the scumbag would use a narrative that would make him look like the city’s hero and savior.” spoke Agent.

“Oh! So, the prostitution, drugs, crimes and heavens know what else are not your doing?” challenged Lena.

“Not quite in the way that your family makes them out to be.” replied Kara with confidence. “I’ll gladly explain to you what the RedK zrhythrev does.”

“Please, do tell! Why don’t you let me pick the topic?” Lena said mockingly as she sat down, and crossed her arms in the challenging way she always used for condescending men “Let’s start with prostitution.”

Then, Kara began to pace around the boardroom, her arms now crossed in front of her.

“Our sexual workers are women who want to follow that path, all of them are of legal age; we don’t allow any minors into the business. No one is forced into it or exploited, they are there willingly. They live in guarded apartment buildings where they are always taken care of medically and psychologically speaking. The buildings are guarded for their own protection, specially from entitled people that think they can harass them just for their profession; not because we fear they might escape. They can stop and go at any moment, if they wish it.” outstretching a hand, signaling Nia and Kelly she continued “Soldat ‘Dreamer’ and Soldat ‘Guardian’ are the ones who take care of them. And with the help of all the family, we plan military like operations to free not only girls, but anyone who is being forced into sexual trafficking in National City. And recently, thanks to your testimony against Lex Luthor, we were able to rescue a large group of girls we couldn’t get a hold of in years.”

Stopping and slamming a hand on the table, with her voice full of rage, Kara said “That ‘girl’ that Dreamer and Guardian spoke of before? She was severely abused by one of Lex’s associates, maybe you know about him?” Kara locked her gaze with Lena’s “Ben Lockwood. Quite a nasty and entitled fellow. He wasn’t quite happy when we got hold of her and the group she was with. But with Lex out of the picture, there’s not much he can do on his own. Golly! how has he tried. He didn’t care that much about the innocent civilians when one of his cells stormed into one apartment building searching for the girls a couple of months ago. Weeks later, one of his minions came here alone and searched until he found her again, thankfully, our people got hold on him before he could do more harm to her. But I guess the narrative you heard was more in the side of them trying to stop a group hidden in the slums who were sexual trafficking women. Or that’s how some tabloids wrote it.”

Lena lowered her head, unable to look at Kara any longer. She remembers that article, Lillian was fuming. Saying how the RedK were vile and needed to be exterminated, how lucky the police were to have Ben Lockwood’s support in assembling a team and leading the operation to avoid police casualties. The police had given Lockwood’s team full control of the operation, no limits whatsoever. The article mentioned many injured and few casualties, mostly due to the resistance of the criminals. If what Kara said was true, then those injured and casualties were…

“How curious, it seems I’ve rendered you speechless.”

Lena raised her head again, her chin up in defiance.

“What about drugs?”

“What have you heard about that?” challenged Kara.

“That you and your gang commercialize a powerful inhibitor, which is dangerously addictive. That your lab for synthetic drugs is in some undisclosed location in your turf. That it was mere luck that Maxwell Lord was able to get a sample of it due to its rareness and high price, and started working on an antidote to counter the drug.”

Kara couldn’t help but let out a thunderous laugh that made her bow, holding her belly. But it was not a humorous laugh though, it was more one out of incredulity. Lena looked around and saw the others chuckling or shaking their heads, as if what she had just said was totally ridiculous. Even Sam was trying so hard not to laugh.

“Rao’s light.” Kara straightened back “Maxwell Lord really has them eating from his hand.” scoffed Kara to then turn to Lena and smile “Do you really believe all that rubbish? I would’ve been suspicious of him the moment he said all of that. Let’s clear things up then, Lena. RedK doesn’t make any type of synthetic drugs, we’re only guilty of having a lab or two, maybe more, to create medical drugs not FDA approved that are unaffordable to people living in our part of the city, but we do enough research to know they are safe to use. If possible, we try to reach others, but Lord doesn’t like it when someone messes in his turf.”

Turning to look at the soldat called Agent, Kara continued “Agent here, handles all the drugs research. And the ones some of our people distribute on the streets are drugs based on plants, you know, a bit of cannabis, opium, peyote, coca leaves not processed, nothing too addictive and not mixed with anything else. Some of them are used for recreation purposes for college students, after all, they want to try pot brownies as a college experience. But most of them are used for medicinal purposes. I’m sure you’ve read papers about how cannabis helps cancer patients with the pain, just to mention an example.” once more Kara slammed her hands over the table while grinding her teeth “Everything Maxwell Lord has accused us of, is a well woven lie to manipulate others to his whim; in fact, he is the one who sent his lackeys to our turf and began to distribute his drug we refer to as ‘bizarro’; then he has the gall to blame us for its creation and distribution in the city. He had no qualms on sacrificing our people for his horrific experiments. Despite Agent’s quick action…”

An air of solemnity filled the room. Everyone’s face showed a certain amount of distress and helplessness. Lena read articles, papers and even was able to get her hands on a tiny sample to analyze it after a lot of effort and cajoling. She knew how harmful the drug was and wondered how it was possible for someone to create something so vile and dangerous just to enrich their pockets. When consumed in large doses, the repercussions were life lasting, and in most cases the users had died hours after an overdose. No other drug in the black market had this level of addiction. She wondered how many people living in RedK turf had been affected by using it; although, by the looks of everyone and Kara’s reaction, it was a sensitive topic, one that had done a lot of damage in their community.

“Does this satisfy your curiosity, or shall I continue?” asked Kara after regaining her composure, and looking back at Lena.

“Then all the crime…”

“Any conflict that has taken part in our turf was brought from the outside by your family and their associates. Our crime rate is pretty low compared to other districts across the city, although, if any member of the community is found committing a felony they’re punished according to the severity of the felony. For instance, if someone thinks that ‘boys will be boys’ behavior will be condoned, they have other thing coming. Or if a client of our girls doesn’t stop when they are no longer giving their consent, I can confidently say they won’t me a problem in the future. That Lockwood’s minion? Let’s just say Dreamer has already taken care of it accordingly.”

Kara’s features were full of gratification. Her steel gaze piercing Lena to the core. She didn’t need to go into full details for Lena to understand what Kara’s people had done to those offenders. No wonder her crime numbers were so low. Apparently, Kara had a heavy zero-tolerance policy, not mattering who they were. And by the looks of it, she didn’t feel any remorse at how she handled her turf.

Lena was always one to think that justice had to be delivered on a fair trial, that everyone deserved the chance to defend themselves. However, seeing her own family try to justify the indefensible, she wondered if it was fair to the people that had been harmed. All those cases of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assassinations, robbery, and many others; how someone with money and an army of lawyers could get away with practically anything and everything. Now, hearing Kara explain her ways, she didn’t quite know what to think anymore. And it seemed that the uncertainty and doubt flashed in her eyes and features long enough for Kara to notice.

Kara approached to Lena’s seat, and stood next to her, facing her. Blue and green locking in heated scrutiny.

“We just want to make National City a better place, Lena. And I know you want to bring change to this city. Even if you’ve tried to change L-Corp for the better, those who still slither in the shadows are making it a colossal and impossible task; with the people your family backed-up still in power, transformation is nothing but a fantasy chased by delusional people.” Kara extended her hand towards Lena “With our forces and resources combined, we’d be unstoppable. Imagine what we could achieve in National City together. Nothing would hold you back to help those more vulnerable. Join us, Lena.”

Lena broke the eye contact and stared at Kara’s hand for a minute, a knot forming in her throat. This mafia leader was handing her her dreams and wishes on a silver tray. Was giving her the opportunity to turn L-Corp into a force of good. But how much could she trust them? Her? Lena had been lied to and betrayed enough times to last for a life-time, she stopped counting many years ago. Was she seriously considering it?

Lena raised her head and staring right at Kara, she asked.

“How can I be sure you are not lying to me? How can I be sure that you won’t betray me the moment you have the whole city under your control? That everything will be for the benefit of the people and not only you and your ‘soldats’?”

“I’ve shared with you the location of my headquarters, the identity of my most faithful and esteemed commanders, how we work; I’ve showed you just the tip of the iceberg regarding RedK, so you could see with your own eyes our truth and reach your own conclusions, not what other people had been feeding you for years. Now, sharing things about me, that’s another story.” With the extended hand she gestured to everyone on the room and the ones on video-call “But be sure of this Lena, the RedK is a close zrhythrev. We, the Zor-El have a family motto, ‘El mayarah’, it means stronger together. If you become part of our family, you and we will become stronger than ever. You’ll be our strength and we’ll be yours.” Kara extended once again her hand towards Lena “Will you help us make National City a better place? Will you join us, Lena Luthor?”

Lena glanced around the room, her eyes jumping from one person to the other, trying to find any speck of deceit on their faces or their eyes; anything that would tell her that these people wanted to manipulate her just like everyone else has done in the past. But no matter how much she tried to find something that would stop her right away, all she could see were encouraging looks and smiles. She turned a little bit on her chair to focus on Sam. If Sam showed any sign of this being a trick, she’ll know it right away, they’d been able to communicate lots with just their eyes in the past, also Sam would never drag her into any risky and dangerous situation. What she saw was unexpected though. Sam was smiling confidently and nodding, almost encouragingly, like she did with Ruby when the girl was unsure of something. A gesture of unconditional support. She doesn’t remember when was the last time she was given that type of look. Not from Lex or Lillian, that’s for sure.

Lena turned again, facing Kara once more. She stared at Kara’s features, they looked almost soft, nothing like what she looked like when confiding the information about the RedK. Her blue eyes still held some sternness, but she guessed Kara couldn’t show any weakness if she was a mafia leader. Now that Lena thought about it, they had that in common. Both were unable to display any type of weakness, else it could be exploited by the ones who wanted to bring them down. Lena understood what if felt like. With Sam she’d been able to become a little bit softer, she wondered what it would be like to be able to trust more people, to know that they had your back no matter what, that they wouldn’t stab you at their first chance.

Lena’s resolve to leave and forget everything that has happened that day was faltering. Deep inside she knew that this was an opportunity that presented just once in life. What if she rejected the proposal and then regretted it? All the good she wants to do with her L-Corp projects could be halted for months, if not years. But if she joined her resources with Kara’s, then she’d have a chance to change the bad image that still lurked around her company. Of course, she knew it wouldn’t be easy despite all things considered, it would be naïve of her to think otherwise. She was not a fifth dimensional being that with the snap of her fingers could change the world, things didn’t work that way, no matter how much she wished it.

After another long minute of thinking, she made her decision. She was a woman that liked a challenge. And Lena had a feeling that this would be her biggest challenge yet.

Lena extended her hand and took Kara’s, giving it a firm shake as she said.

“I accept. I’ll join you and the RedK.”

Kara smiled satisfied at Lena’s response. She let go of her hand and went to the head of the table. Extending an arm out in Lena’s direction, Kara said.

“Rejoice, my Soldats, Lena Luthor has decided to become part of our zrhythrev.”

Everybody stood up and making the same sign when they started the reunion – placing their hand over their chest while folding their ring finger – they started to introduce themselves.

“I am Nia Nal, code name Soldat Dreamer.”

“My name is Querl Dox, code name Soldat Brainiac.”

“I’m Kelly Olsen, code name Soldat Guardian.”

“You already know me. Samantha ‘Sam’ Arias, code name Soldat Reign.”

The people on video-call followed when the ones in the room were done. 

“Alex Danvers, code name Soldat Agent.”

“Lucy Lane here. Code name Soldat Judicator.”

“Winn Scott Jr. My code name is Soldat Toyman.”

“I am Kara Zor-El Danvers, leader of the Zor-El family and the RedK mafia. I’m also known as ‘Maiden of Might’, but my soldats and our zrhythrev refer to me as the ‘Girl of Steel’.” Walking towards Lena, she took both of her hands and pulled her up from the chair. “Now, as a member of the family, and member of Les Soldats, you have to choose your code name, Lena.”

“My code name? I… I’m not sure what to pick.”

“Or if you want, I can assign you one, you can change it later if you wish.”

Lena could swear she heard a couple of gasps around, they were almost imperceptible, but maybe it was due the heavy and solemn atmosphere of the moment. She didn’t pay them much attention. Instead, all her senses were focused on Kara. The rough feeling of her hands, the deep blue of her eyes, how she towered over her by a couple of inches, her dominating aura. The logical part of her brain refused to accept that she was fascinated with the mystery that was Kara Zor-El, the Girl of Steel. Also, a deep and dark part of her mind found appealing the idea of Kara assigning her her code name. It was many types of exciting. Refusing all logic for once, and allowing herself to go with the flow of her desires, she said letting out a shaking breath.

“Please, do.”

Kara grinned in a charming way as she nodded at Lena. Releasing one of Lena’s hands, Kara moved her own hand to Lena’s chest – the palm facing Lena – but never quite touching her, just hovering.

“Thy code name, Lena Luthor, shall be known as Soldat Metallo.” Letting go of Lena’s other hand and withdrawing her own, Kara took a step back, then, she extended out her arms in a welcoming gesture towards Lena and in an authoritative voice said “Lena Luthor, code name Soldat Metallo. I, Kara Zor-El Danvers, welcome you to RedK.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this story.   
> I hope you'll leave a comment (not just here but in other fics you read too). Remember that comments are like potions to writers.   
> I may have or may have not used a game reference here.   
> In this universe, the characters might not behave like their DCU canon counterparts. Also, everything Kara and her group might do may be bordering on the unrealistic but as I have said, this is fiction so I'm gonna exploit that.   
> I wasn't sure what code name to give to Alex, so I went with 'Agent', since it's used for some of her shipping names. 
> 
> I'm posting this chapter earlier than expected 'cause I'll be busy the following days, so I might not write as fast and as much as I've been doing. It also means that the next chapter might take longer to be posted. Also don't expect fast updates, right now I'm on an inspiration spree. 
> 
> Take care everyone, and stay safe.


	4. Guests B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena is officially a Soldat now.  
> Sam and Brainy assist her.  
> Lena gets a peek of another side of Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the notes at the end of the chapter.  
> Not beta-ed, all errors are my own.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

_Kara grinned in a charming way as she nodded at Lena. Releasing one of Lena’s hands, Kara moved her own hand to Lena’s chest – the palm facing Lena – but never quite touching her, just hovering._

_“Thy code name, Lena Luthor, shall be known as Soldat Metallo.” Letting go of Lena’s other hand and withdrawing her own, Kara took a step back, then, she extended out her arms in a welcoming gesture towards Lena and in an authoritative voice said “Lena Luthor, code name Soldat Metallo. I, Kara Zor-El Danvers, welcome you to RedK.”_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After Kara had declared that Lena was now part of the family and performed what could be called the ‘welcome ceremony’ where she’d given her a codename, Kara had ordered for Brainy to take Lena to his ‘dungeon’ – which was his lab – to enter Lena’s biometric info to the database so she could have the same level of access as her soldat comrades.

Before leaving the conference room, Kara walked right by Lena, and in a low voice that only Lena could hear she said.

“You were never my enemy, Lena. And I was never yours.”

By the time Lena had turned her head to see Kara after her brain had processed the words, the ‘Girl of Steel’ had already reached the elevator and was gone.

Now Lena was walking along with Sam – being guided by Brainy – towards his ‘dungeon’, and by that moment, Lena understood what Sam meant when she said not be fooled by the building’s appearance. What ‘the Fortress’ lacked in height, was compensated by the underground sub-levels that it had. Lena wondered how was Kara able to build something of this magnitude, not referring only to the amount of space it had but also the level of security it possessed. Lena was also marveled at the quantity and diversity of people working there. Even with all the changes she’s been doing at L-Corp, she was still struggling to have men and women employed equally not mattering the area; not to mention how uneven those numbers were when talking about race and disabled people. However, it seemed Kara was already a step ahead here, there was so much diversity. She saw a group engaged working on what looked a prototype of some sort, although she couldn’t quite see what it was.

Sam noticed where Lena’s interest was focused and said.

“I knew that would pique your interest. Maybe after we’re done with the biometrics, we could go and see what they’re working on.”

“I’d like that, but would it be fine? Even if I’m now an official member, wouldn’t they be wary of a Luthor? I know I’d be.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll know you were chosen by Kara herself. And her word is law here. No one will question you or her decision. Anyone who works down here is smarter than to question the tynth’s word.”

“She rules with an iron first then, uh?”

“Only when it’s required and for the benefit of others.”

“They’re not coerced into working here, right?” asked Lena, concerned for the safety of these people.

“Lena.” began Sam with a stern tone. “I know it seems ludicrous given what you’ve been told about Kara and RedK, but no. Everyone here is on their own volition. Things here are done differently than the rest of the city. There’s a huge difference between here and where the ‘other powerful’ people are.”

Lena knew quite well what Sam was referring to. The other turfs controlled by people her own family had endorsed.

At last, they reached a door that opened the moment Brainy approached. Upon entering, Lena saw various monitors showing surveillance footage from different parts of the building and the city. Other monitors showed programming codes, spreadsheets, blueprints, running simulations, among other things. Some monitors were connected to different types of equipment. Brainy got near one of those and said.

“Soldat Metallo, if you can approach, please. So you can be registered in our biometric data base.”

“Please, call me Lena. Or if you’re not comfortable with a first name basis, Ms. Luthor is fine.”

“Oh, okay. I didn’t want to disrespect you, considering your rank.”

“My rank? But we’re both soldats…” Lena said unsure. She turned her head to look at Sam, who gave her a look that said that she’d explain later.

“Brainy, let’s start. It might not be as easy and fast as we’d hope, considering how picky this one can be.”

“Hey, I’m not picky. I simply like to select the correct option after analyzing the pros and cons of each…”

“See? Picky.”

“I think it’s commendable that she analyses all her given data and probabilities to reach a satisfactory outcome.” replied Brainy. 

“I knew you’d praise her pickiness.” sighed Sam. “Just get started Brainy, or we’ll be here all day.”

With that, Brainy got near a monitor and began to type on his tablet. The equipment was connected to another device that looked like a Bluetooth charger, but much more complex. Laying over it was a tiny vial, with a reddish liquid inside. After typing some more on his tablet, Brainy got near Lena and asked.

“Can I take a DNA sample, Lena?”

“Oh, sure. What will do? Blood sample?”

“Oh no, something simpler. Just let me take a sample of your saliva.”

“Alright.”

“Please, lick this lollipop.” said Brainy handling Lena the candy.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. Thanks to Sam and Alex, our methods have become less invasive. And Kara always says that candy is a great incentive.” before Lena could take the sugary treat, Brainy said. “Wait. I forgot to ask if this flavor was fine as per social convention dictates.”

“Uh, yeah, it’s fine. Thank you, Brainy.” said Lena.

“Nia would have his head if he didn’t ask.” said Sam leaning conspiratorially. “She once scolded him for giving her one without asking which flavor she wanted.”

“I see.” and so Lena began to eat the lollipop.

While she did so, she thought about how these people behaved so differently in the presence of Kara, or rather, in a meeting with her; but in any other situation they acted like longtime friends. And maybe they were. Perhaps she’d get to know more about them now that she was officially one of them too. It would be a first for Lena. To be part of a family, and to have friends, or at least, more than one.

The Luthors were never prone to act like a true family while indoors, it was just an illusion for the masses; the portrait of a powerful, functional and perfect family. Ha! If only people knew the truth; they were anything but. She could bet that Lillian was relieved that she didn’t have to pose as the lovable mother any longer, after all, there wasn’t much of an image she had to take care of while in prison. She often made it clear to Lena that the only one she’d dote on ever would be Lex. In fact, there was one time not many years back when Lena had actually asked Lillian if she loved her just a little, at which Lillian responded how anyone could ever love a pebble on the shoe. That just did it for Lena. All and any expectation that she might get Lillian’s love at any point in her life was extinguished at the drop of a hat and never looked back. In fact, she had only called her ‘mother’ when in front of other people, otherwise it was simply Lillian. And Lex…well, she already knew what he felt about her. It wasn’t his brotherly love what led her here.

As for friends, she was sure Sam was her friend by now. And she was happy about it, especially after being betrayed by people who had called themselves her friends in the past. Particularly one of the name Andrea. When she thought she finally had one person on her side to support her and be for her, BAM! the betrayal came. No matter what reasons the woman had given her, Lena would never see her the same way again, and it could be noticed when the back then LuthorCorp sealed a business deal with Andrea’s company. Lena barely spoke in the meeting, and when Andrea had wanted to talk with her, Lena gave her the cold shoulder and left the room. No other words spoken. Also, Lena blamed her for ruining Titanic for her. Maybe the day would come when she could enjoy Titanic once more, despite it being her favorite movie she barely watched it anymore.

When she finished the lollipop – it didn’t take long, it was quite a small one – she gave the stick back to Brainy, who placed it inside a container and then added some substance inside it. As soon as it was closed, he began to tap on his tablet. Lena couldn’t keep her scientific curiosity on hold, so she came closer and saw what was on the monitor. Her DNA was being transferred to the small vial she had seen before, but on the monitor, it looked like it was being transferred to some kind of chip.

“Ah, I see. You’re transferring my DNA to a chip that I will be injected with, to work with the biometric pads you’ve got here.”

“Not quite. Your DNA is being processed and split so it can be transferred to our nanobots that work with all our systems that require special biometrics. A chip would be easy to locate and remove if something were to happen, hence it’s a dangerous option. The nanobots will have to replicate your DNA structure, if they fail to do so, the system won’t work. But the nanobots in your body will have only half of your sequence, we still need you to pick the item that will have the other half.”

“You have fully functional nanobots working with DNA and within the body without issue?” asked Lena amazed.

Before she was summoned to work at LuthorCorp, she had tried with her then partner Jack to develop – quite unsuccessfully – nanobots that would help cure almost any type of cancer. Even after she had to step down from their partnership to join her family business, Jack had continued with the project and started his own company. Unfortunately, Jack had been manipulating the data, and the results he was giving to other companies with the expectation to gain more funds for the production and distribution, were all lies. Despite all the investment and years of research, the nanobots were still a hazard, and in no way could be safely used on humans; in fact, an unknown source had disclosed the truth to a major outlet media in Metropolis and proved it left sequels that were as dangerous as the cancer they wanted to cure. Also, Jack had been experimenting with the nanobots on himself, and just days after the news exposed the truth, he died as a consequence of the malfunction of the nanobots.

Lena was hit hard with the information that day. She had mixed emotions about it. She was hurt at his loss, he always had been good to her, but on the other hand, she felt again betrayed, how could Jack attempt to start the production of the nanobots when they were still malfunctioning? He’d be risking the life of thousands of people! Had he no shame? Or was he at the end of his rope and wanted to prove Lena he had been able to succeed without her help no matter the cost? He’d never know the answer now, but at least, not everything was lost. Even if Jack couldn’t reach any deal with any company, his research fell in Lena’s hands, and she was determined to make it work, for old time sake. However, with what Lena was seeing here, maybe the RedK had already tinkered enough with the technology that Lena wouldn’t have much left to do.

“Well, we’re still experimenting on them. Our R&D team is working on them for a medical use. Alex supervises whenever she can, but she’s got her plate full. And this is not really Kara’s field of expertise. Thankfully, now we have someone who can work more on them.” said Brainy while continuously typing on the tablet.

“Would it be fine if I work on them with the R&D team? I could talk with the person in charge and offer some input.” asked Lena.

“I don’t see why you’d like to talk to yourself regarding the R&D team for this project, but I guess everyone has some oddities.” replied Brainy.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Lena. Apparently Brainy just told you that you’re the head-researcher for the nanobot project. I’m still not as fluent as Nia in ‘Brainy-nese’, but I’m quite sure that’s what he meant.”

“That’s correct, Sam. Thanks for clarifying.”

“I’m what? But I just got here? How can I be appointed to something just like that?”

“I can explain all the process, but it might take longer than we have time for. I could send you a very explanatory file if you wish.” said Brainy.

“Brainy, let’s just continue.” exhaled Sam already tired.

“Of course. While the nanobots split your DNA, as I said we need another item, so let’s choose that.”

Brainy turned around and grabbed a metal tray with various and different objects; it had all kinds of jewelry, pin badges, fountain pens, glasses, handkerchiefs, even scrunchies, among other stuff and presented it to Lena. 

“These are some of the items you may choose. Or if you’d rather have us use one of your own, we can also do that.”

“Is there any restriction I have to take into consideration when selecting the object?” asked Lena observing all the items.

“It must be an object you have to always carry with you.” started to explain Sam “Also it’s preferrable for it to be something you’d normally use and won’t change at all. All of us have something different.” Sam took out a necklace from within her blouse and showed it to Lena “I use this one, which was picked by Ruby. I never take it off, and since I’ve been using it for a long time, people just assume is important to me. That’s why I had this one merged with the nanobots. No one would question it. You on the other hand. You change jewelry constantly to fit your clothes, you’re quite a public figure, so any piece of jewelry or item you start to use out of the blue will draw attention.”

“That’s true. Who would have thought, Sam? You’re being picky too.”

“Don’t be a smartass now, Luthor.” said Sam using her last name in jesting “You’re a target already. I simply don’t want to add scrutiny to the list you’re being targeted for.”

“Careful there, Sam. Your high level of sassy-ness is showing.”

“If I may make a suggestion” interrupted Brainy “I think I have a solution to the problem.” he picked a wristwatch and handed it to Lena “This would be the most fitting accessory in your situation.”

Lena took the watch and examined it. It looked quite normal, nothing extraordinary out of it. 

“Why is it more fitting than the other things? Why makes it special?” asked Lena.

“I’m glad you asked. See, this watch works with a technology called ‘image inducer’ which in simple terms could be described as a hologram. The physical form of the watch remains the same, but when the image inducer is activated, visually it changes its appearance. Let me show you”.

Brainy opened some kind of lid on the watch and pressed a button inside that was shaped like a diamond and had like an ‘S’ inside it, after closing the lid, the watch now had other design. It looked slimer and had a golden color, instead of the sporty look it had before.

“This is incredible. Who created this?”

“Winn, Kara and me have been working on it for a while. But originally, it was Kara the one with the idea.”

“Has it been developed for further uses?”

“Not at the moment, but Kara is still reluctant about expanding its use, she fears that it could be weaponized by others. Which is something she’s strongly against.” explained Brainy.

Lena understood completely Kara’s feeling in the matter. Some projects that had a lot of potential in LuthorCorp had been bastardized and turned into weapons that had caused harm and killed many. When Lena rebranded the company, she swore she’d stop this practice. She was glad that Kara had the same frame of mind as her about it.

“I think this one is the best for you, Lena.” said Sam looking at the watch “I bet you can input all the models you possess into the database. That way no one would question the use of a different accessory, and you’d still be able to use it without trouble.”

“True. Maybe even I could manipulate the projection to make it seem that I’m not wearing anything.”

“Oh! That sounds plausible.” intervened Brainy “We haven’t been able to work more on it; so far, we’ve only worked on the projection of the same type of object, but not a full concealment of the object itself to mimicry with its surroundings.”

“Before I do that, can you tell me how to input new data on it, Brainy?”

“Of course. But, let’s finish with your biometrics first.”

“Sure.”

With the item selected, Brainy started the process of merging the nanobots with the watch. All of it was so fascinating to Lena. She never expected to see part of her previous research work this way, it was really a marvel. As she watched, she remembered what Sam did to open the elevator door with the biometric panel.

“Wait a second, Sam. If your DNA is used to open the elevator door, why did you place your palm on the scanner? Also why did you have a retina scan if it’s not needed?” asked Lena confused.

“You realized it just now, uh? It’s to deceive any possible intruder or hacker lurking around the cameras. Not that we’d have any in years, but better be safe than sorry. Our firewalls and security protocols fool them as well into thinking that’s necessary for gaining access, so they input that data and think they outsmarted us. It’s happened just once, and the trespasser was dealt with.”

“That’s quite clever, actually. Now that you explained to me how it works, I can see how also just a chip wouldn’t be safe either, even if it’s linked with other biometric data; and I might have more trouble hacking into it contrary to what I thought. Also, the approach to the panel isn’t needed for a reading of the two items, right?” deduced Lena.

“Nope. I bet Brainy or Winn can explain it better, but basically the scanners have at least a 2 meters reach so it can read the nanobots information, but it does need a confirmation to get access, that’s why we touch the panel. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to the routine soon enough. It’s all for our people’s protection.”

“Does everyone need this procedure to access to different parts of the building?”

“The normal personnel have the usual biometrics, you know, eye scanning, finger prints, voice recognition, a personalized ID card. Only we, Les Soldats, go through this. As I said, it’s for everyone’s protection.”

“You said before that you’d tell me how do people know that we are Soldats. But I can’t imagine you having any special mark like a tattoo, or item in you, that’d be too obvious. Especially if some of you are infiltrated somewhere else.”

“Well, I can show you, I hope you don’t freak out, since you know, soon you’ll have it too.” replied Sam unsure.

“Just show me Sam. I’ll freak out later, once I’ve had enough time to process it.”

“Okay. Here it goes. Look at me, and focus on my eyes.”

Sam got near Lena and stared at each other. Sam closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, they had a reddish glow, as well as some veins on her face, particularly near the eyes. The glow lasted for less than a second but it was enough for Lena to notice it.

“If you really focus on our eyes, we have a particular red glow, and tiny traces of red in our iris; which is the result of the substance that we are infused with, not to mention the glowing veins. It was needed so the nanobots wouldn’t mess with our bodies, it keeps them in control, and this is a result of what’s on the vial. We kind of learn to control it, so it’s very useful when we need to intimidate. However, we try to avoid displaying it to the people working with us as much as we can; and usually the new interns are informed in their first meetings so they don’t freak out if they see it. They are told we are the chiefs of a specific department so they know who we are. Although, since the community here in out turf is quite close to each other, most of them already know about us, and they know we do all we can to help them, so they already recognize us without showing our Soldat mark.”

“Aren’t you worried someone would snitch you? You’re all well known, and someone could spill the beans.”

“Kara knows the importance of loyalty, and she’s compelled to maintain it. Look, RedK may be a gang despised by most people in the city, but here, people are thankful. It’s a trade of sorts, we help the people, and they are loyal to us by not spilling our secrets outside our turf.”

“Why aren’t people in the rest of city eager to come here then?” asked Lena, with a bit of challenge in her tone.

“There’s so much we could do on our own. Look, I’ll explain more later, but what Kara said before, is really true; with our resources combined, it changes everything.”

“Alright. I expect to have this conversation again tonight.”

“I promise.”

“The process of the nanobots it’s completed. Now we just need to inject you with the vial and we’ll be finished.” Interrupted Brainy “Are you ready, Lena?”

“I just have one more question before we proceed. Is the process reversible?”

“Of course it is! We wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t. We might not be FDA approved, but that doesn’t mean that Kara would risk our safety.” said Brainy as if the question was the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard.

“Let’s do it then.”

Brainy took the vial and inserted it into a gun-shaped syringe, then asked Lena to uncover the upper part of her arm – near her shoulder – and then pressed the barrel of the gun-shaped syringe and pulled what would be the trigger. Lena heard a faint click and swoosh sound, but besides that, nothing else. She couldn’t feel the needle, or even the liquid in the vial. No pain, nothing at all. It was fast and painless. Brainy simply told her she could lower her sleeve and that was it.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that medical equipment. It’s remarkable. You just injected me the fluid in the vial. You didn’t need to prepare it, find the spot on my arms or legs, not even use alcohol or remove any cap from the needle. Who came up with it?”

“That would be Kara and Alex. They think that being able to give injections is a very useful and practical skill, yet, many people are afraid to learn due to different reasons. So, they created this gadget to make giving an injection easier and safer. Alex and Winn came up with the design after watching a lot of horror and sci-fi movies, and playing games of the same genre.”

“Does it have name yet? Can you tell me more about it?”

“Kara likes to call it the injecti-nator.” replied Sam grinning at Lena “Alex of course refuses to call it that. But so far, she’s not come up with a better name yet. I’ll be sure to send you the blueprints so you can nerd about it later.”

“I’ll have my hands full with all the stuff I’ve seen here.” said Lena with a small smile on her lips. “I can’t believe all the things you have.”

“Lena. You’ve seen nothing yet.” said Brainy “Well, now that you have the nanobots in your system, the most you may experience is a bit of hungover symptoms for no more than a couple of hours, if at all.”

“Thanks, Brainy.”

“Here’s your new watch. I’ll explain how to input new data.”

And so Brainy began to explain how her watch worked and how to input data for the image inducer to work properly and have a large database to project. While Lena and Brainy worked on the watch, Sam worked on her phone, she had just received a message from Kara with all the specifics regarding Lena’s protection and how she had assigned Sam to be her carer in the meanwhile. She’d have a lot of explaining to do once they arrived at Sam’s place, since it was the safest location for Lena at the moment, and it’d be easier for Sam to look after her. Also, it wouldn’t rise any suspicions if Lena stayed with her, she was her CFO after all and her house was out of RedK turf. Sam had already taken a huge risk at taking Lena to Kara, but she just couldn’t miss the opportunity, and apparently, Kara thought so as well.

After half an hour of nerding between Lena and Brainy, Brainy had to leave them to continue doing his tasks, which apparently was to review the footage of Lena’s assassination attempt. They wanted to find as many clues as possible to have a lead and ‘fix Lena’s problem with undesired men’.

Sam and Lena left Brainy’s dungeon and headed back to the labs Lena saw before. As they walked through the halls, Lena noticed Kara talking with the team she’d seen when they arrived. The people were smiling broadly, particularly a very young woman who was moving her hands enthusiastically as she spoke, then she saw Kara do the same. Suddenly, the realization dawned on Lena; they were using sign language. It could be noticed that Kara was not as fluent, but she managed to communicate with the young woman, Lena watched for a couple of minutes, and during that time, Kara had to take a small notepad and write something down to then show it to the young woman. Sam, who had been standing beside Lena, spoke.

“Kara tries to make everyone feel welcomed here. That’s why she tries to communicate with them in a language that makes them more confident and comfortable, even if she isn’t.”

“What do you mean? Does Kara refuse to use certain languages?” asked Lena with a huff.

“Ah. The way I phrased it makes Kara sound like a douche.” chuckled Sam “What I meant is that she might not be proficient in that language yet, but does what she can to communicate. If she fails, she apologizes at having to switch.” nodding towards Kara and the group, Sam continued “Shouko is one of our new interns, she joined like four months ago, she moved from Japan when she was a little girl. Although she’s been living here for years, she’s not as fluent in ASL as she is in JSL, so Kara has been learning JSL to help her adapt and be sure she’s fine.”

“That’s very kind of her.” said Lena. _‘And very sweet. Who’d have thought a gang leader would be so considerate’_ she thought.

“It’s been quite a challenge for Kara, according to her, sign language is more difficult than any other language she’s learned.”

“Wait, how many languages can she actually speak?” asked Lena surprised. She knew a couple herself, and sometimes it was a nightmare to remember a specific word in the language she wanted to say it, yet she remembered it in another.

“I don’t actually know how many, but I’ve heard her speak in Russian, Spanish and Chinese; and use ASL without trouble. But I bet she knows more, since I’ve seen her talk with people from our community that are not as fluent in English.”

Lena looked at Kara, how her features softened slightly when talking with the group. The young women and men were listening to her, completely engrossed as they took notes. Lena saw Kara move to a board they had, uncap a marker and begin to write some notes and a couple of formulas. Lena saw how the faces of the interns lighted up as if Kara had given them the answer to a complicated puzzle. When Kara capped the marker again, Shouko got closer to her and signed something, to which Kara responded signing back with a faint smile. Other interns had already moved to their tables and started to type on their computers after thanking her, as others began to work on whatever project they had.

Kara exited the lab, and for a moment her eyes focused on Lena. Maybe it was the recent interaction with the young interns, but Lena could swear that Kara looked at her with softness, contrary to the usual firm and cold stare she displayed. The exchange lasted less than a second, but it was enough for Lena to feel even more intrigued at the enigma that was Kara.

Sam nudged Lena with her elbow to draw her attention and asked her if she wanted to see what the interns were working on. Lena nodded and went with Sam to the lab. After a few introductions, a bit of fangirling at Lena, and Lena unconsciously displaying the soldat mark, the interns showed them their current project. They were trying to create an ecofriendly battery that would be charged with solar power, and that its components didn’t leave much of a carbon print on the planet. The battery was focused on people that needed to charge medical equipment for their daily use, just like Shouko’s hearing aid. They had been having trouble with the charging and storage, and that’s when Kara came by and helped them with some formulas and suggestions. It was normal for Kara to roam around the labs and see how the teams and departments were doing, and most often than not, she gave some input or made a note to try to provide the resources needed for the project to move forward or even discard it, depending on what her soldats suggested. There had been very few projects that had been rejected or put on hold, and most of them had already reached the most needed parts in their turf, especially medical ones.

Lena didn’t stay much time at the lab, she noticed that there wasn’t much feedback she could provide since Kara had already solved the most pressing issue in their project, although she promised to visit again and see how they were doing, much to the delight of the ones present.

Sam and Lena went up to the lobby and left the building, back to Sam’s car. They had spent quite a while at the Fortress, so Lena had called her assistant Jess and had asked her to cancel any appointment she had for the rest of the day and for the next day as well. Jess didn’t ask any details of Lena’s whereabouts, she simply wished her well and to take care of herself. Lena was thankful to Jess; her assistant was one of the few employees she had that really worried about her. The woman was more loyal than her own family.

Once Lena hung up the call, Sam spoke.

“Since we are not going back to L-Corp, we should go to your place to grab some clothes and other things you may need, since you’ll be staying with me.”

“Is it okay? I don’t want to inconvenience you and Ruby.”

“Nonsense, Lena! You’re my friend, and now, family too in a more official way. Also, Kara would have my head if something happened to you after I made the request.” chuckled Sam.

“Did Kara order you to?”

“She did, but I had already planned to take to my place. I was ready to present Kara a bunch of slides in case she assigned you to someone else in the time being. I’m kind of sad I didn’t get to use them; it was a great presentation though.”

“Thank you, Sam.” smiled Lena, warmed at how Sam cared for her. “I’m intrigued about that presentation; I’d like to see your compelling arguments. Would they be good enough to change Kara’s mind?”

“Are you doubting your CFO, Luthor? Where do you think I learned to handle myself when dealing with idiotic people? They are nothing compared when trying to argue with Kara. Now that I think about it, it’s a very similar feeling when one tries to argue with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Although, you have to be much more careful with her, since you know, she can pull her gun out and shoot you between the eyes at any moment.”

“Has she actually done that?” asked Lena with a bit of shock in her voice.

Sam didn’t give a reply. Lena didn’t know if she should take the silence as confirmation or denial, she wasn’t sure if she’d like to know. Before the mood became more somber, Sam spoke again. 

“By the way, it’s good that you cancelled your appointments for tomorrow, since Kara will talk to you about all the details regarding your protection and role as soldat.”

“Well, I guess I could see her at lunch tomorrow. We could set a meeting place.”

“She’s already done it; she’d send the details tomorrow morning.” replied Sam sheepishly.

“So, I have no word in this? She just does as she pleases? Did she at least consulted with you if it was fine with me?” said Lena, her voice with a hint of indignation. She saw Sam shrink in her seat and mouth a ‘sorry’. Lena huffed and continued “I will not stand to this, Sam. I guess I’ll need to have a word with Zor-El tomorrow at lunch.”

“Oh, heavens…” sighed Sam. She really didn’t want to be in the room when it happened.

They spend the rest of the ride in silence. Lena had just noticed that they’d spent quite some time at the RedK turf once she saw the time on her new watch. Sam pulled over at Lena’s apartment building and the two of them rode the elevator to her penthouse, and quickly packed a small bag with Lena’s change of clothes and some other items she was wary to leave there, just in case someone tried to finish the job they started earlier in the day. Fortunately, Lena always was prepared and it didn’t take them long to get everything they needed.

After putting the bags on the trunk, they headed to Sam’s house. It was in the suburbs, not that far from L-Corp to make the commute a nightmare, but still it took at least half an hour of driving to reach it. It was a nice two store house in a peaceful area in the city. Lena wondered if Sam got it thanks to her income from L-Corp or if Kara had chipped in; Sam did say that Kara had helped them years back, before she was hired at the previous LuthorCorp. Whatever the case, she was glad that Sam had a place of her own, where she could raise Ruby.

Sam parked her car in the curb right in front of her house. The two women exited the vehicle and took the luggage from the trunk. Sam opened her door with a four-digit pin number, instead of using a key, and Lena noticed.

“Not many use this type of locks; is the zone unsafe?”

“Kara requested we had it. She worries about Ruby, so I agreed. Besides, extra security in our cases is never too extra.”

Lena had to agree with that.

Right after the door opened, Sam was almost knocked down by a crushing hug.

“Mom!” yelled Ruby “I was worried. I watched the news after my practice. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, baby. Your mom is a badass, and so is your aunt Lena.”

Just then, Ruby noticed the other person by the door.

“Aunt Lena! I’m happy to see you’re fine too!” said Ruby hugging Lena as well.

“Hello, Ruby. Thank you. Sorry for worrying you.” said Lena hugging Ruby back. She was still not used being hugged, but she indulged whenever she received a hug from the girl.

“It’s okay. As long as you’re safe.”

“Well, all is thanks to your mom, she pushed me away just in the nick of time.”

“Mom! You’re so hardcore!”

“Thank you, baby.” said Sam hugging Ruby again “Sorry for arriving late, we had to go grab some stuff for Lena. She’ll be staying with us.”

“Sweet!! For how long?”

“Well, a week maybe? It really depends on how fast Kara has everything ready.”

Lena opened her eyes in surprise, her eyebrows raised. Sam talked about Kara so freely in front of Ruby? And it seemed that it was something normal, because the girl asked, with a bit of glee in her voice.

“Aunt Kara will keep aunt Lena safe from now on then?”

“Yes, she will.”

“Then I have nothing to worry about.” turning to look at Lena, Ruby said “You can relax now, aunt Lena, aunt Kara is the best at keeping her promises.”

“Ruby, why don’t you take aunt Lena to the guest room while I start working on dinner?”

“Sure!”

“Sam, wait. We’ve had quite an insane day, and you’re already letting me stay here, it wouldn’t be fair for you to start cooking at this hour. Why don’t we order something instead? My treat. Anything you want.”

Sam considered Lena’s words for a moment before answering.

“You’re right, today has been beyond wacky. I guess we could order something.”

“Yes!! Please mom!! Can we order some pizza and garlic sticks?!”

“Well, we do deserve a treat. Then I’ll help your aunt Lena and you can place the order. Order whatever you want. Just remember aunt Lena’s preferences.”

“Sure thing, mom!”

Ruby took out her phone and began to place the order for their favorite pizza place, while Sam took Lena to the guest room.

Sam’s house was pretty cozy and warm, nothing like Lena’s apartments and penthouses. Lena was sure that even if she were to like in a torn down shack, it’d still feel empty. Lena hoped that someday, she’ll get to really call a place ‘home’ again and feel safe. In the meantime, she’d try to enjoy her stay here and bask in the feeling it gave her.

As she unpacked her lounge-wear, she was thinking about the day she just had. She couldn’t find an appropriate word to describe it, but for some reason, despite everything that happened, she didn’t feel anxious. In fact, this was the first time in a long time that she’d come across a turning point in her life where she’d not felt unsure of her choices, second guessing herself, thinking that maybe she could’ve done something different. It was a first for Lena since being adopted by the Luthors. She felt confident, perhaps even pleased with the outcome so far. She wondered if it had to do with Kara and all the things she’d learned about the RedK today.

Lena would consider today a new beginning for her, for her company and her projects. She’d been given a chance to help create and bring change. That’s all Lena has always wanted. But before she could rejoice in it, she still had a lot to learn about Kara Zor-El Danvers. Tomorrow promised to be quite an eventful day, and Lena couldn’t wait to see how it’d unfold. She was just finished changing when she heard Sam’s shout from downstairs calling for her.

“Lena! Food’s here!”

Lena closed the door of the guest room and went downstairs just to see Ruby already seated on the couch opening the boxes after placing the plates, while Sam was taking a bottle of wine for them and a soda for Ruby from the kitchen. Lena sat on one of the couches and took a slice of pizza; she was glad that Ruby remembered what she liked.

The dinner went peacefully with Sam asking Ruby about school and club practice; Ruby was having a play at her school in a couple of weeks and was wondering if Lena and even Kara could assist. Sam promised to let Kara know and that even if Kara couldn’t go, she and Lena would be there to support her. After dinner Ruby helped pick up the plates and retired to her room to sleep, she still had school the next day, so Sam didn’t want her to stay up late.

Sam and Lena stayed at the living room finishing the bottle of wine, when it was empty, Sam stood up and went to grab another one, which was a little more expensive and sophisticated. When Sam came back and showed Lena the bottle, Lena raised an eyebrow.

“Does this satisfy your CEO palate?” asked Sam mockingly.

“Don’t sass me, Arias.”

“Can’t help it, Luthor.” said Sam with a smile. Opening the bottle, she poured Lena and herself another glass.

“What’s this for, Sam?”

“I made you a promise.”

“What promise?”

“I promised you I’d tell you more about Les Soldats, the RedK, your rank and Kara.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“Fair warning, I won’t be able to tell you much about Kara.” smiling at Lena she continued “But tomorrow, maybe she might be willing to answer you some questions you may have. And that, Lena, would be a first from our tynth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I was quite busy the past days so it took me a while to complete this one. Also I blame a plot bunny that invaded my mind and I had to let out before I could continue, that's why I wrote a Supercorp one-shot. Be sure to go and check it out. Just a heads-up, it's angsty. 
> 
> As usual, I may have used references from games and series to inspire my work. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I appreciate your kudos and comments! Don't forget to leave more, not just in this story, but any other you read. It makes us authors happy.


	5. Salva Nos II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's A LOT of talking in this one.  
> Sam and Lena talk.   
> Lena learns a bit more about everything.  
> Lena and Kara talk.   
> Lena learns some truths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with this story.   
> I apologize for the delay.  
> There's a lot of talking in this one, and yet not everything is revealed. 
> 
> Again, this is unbeta-ed so all mistakes are my own. 
> 
> I hope you like it.   
> Enjoy!

_“Can’t help it, Luthor.” said Sam with a smile. Opening the bottle, she poured Lena and herself another glass._

_“What’s this for, Sam?”_

_“I made you a promise.”_

_“What promise?”_

_“I promised you I’d tell you more about Les Soldats, the RedK, your rank and Kara.”_

_“Tell me what you know.”_

_“Fair warning, I won’t be able to tell you much about Kara.” smiling at Lena she continued “But tomorrow, maybe she might be willing to answer you some questions you may have. And that, Lena, would be a first from our tynth.”_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lena was standing on the sidewalk just outside a family restaurant – this time it was Italian – located near the city limits in RedK turf. Sam had driven her there for the lunch with Kara. Sam was standing by her side but wouldn’t enter with her. Kara’s orders, she’d said. Lena’s mind was a mess at the moment, and was barely reeling some anger at the tynth’s requirements for this lunch meeting. Sam just hoped that the sight wouldn’t ruffle the tynth’s feathers that much. Sam almost had a heart attack upon seeing her that morning after getting ready to leave the house.

Even if Lena felt anger, she felt fascinated and a tad bit excited – although if you asked her or even mentioned it in passing, she’d deny it and call bullshit on your part – at this meeting. She could clearly remember her conversation with Sam the prior night.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x FLASHBACK x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Sam had filled their glasses to the brim, she got comfortable on the couch, and asked Lena.

“So, what would you like to know first?”

“Tell me a bit more about how the RedK was formed. All I know is that is quite recent, but according to Lex and Lillian, there’s always been some kind of gang in the area, but it was until the RedK appeared that they really began to pay them any attention and complain about them.”

“That’s right. RedK was officially formed around six years ago, but Kara has always been there trying to make things as best as possible. After she created the RedK, it took her about a year to finish The Fortress, and start more actively to help people in the turf. She realized she couldn’t do everything, that’s when she started to recruit more people, especially Les Soldats, to delegate duties to them. That way she could continue working on other problems that needed attention in the turf. In five years, she has transformed the south part of the city into a thriving community.”

“Now that I have more information and not only what Lex and Lillian told me, I must say it’s remarkable. No wonder why they hated her so much.” Lena paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts “If she’s always been around trying to help, what drove her to become more aggressive in the pursue of change?”

Sam looked at Lena with a bit of sadness and said.

“Kara has not told me anything about it. Maybe something in her past triggered it?”

Lena nodded. She’ll have to dig deeper to know more about what drove Kara to create the RedK and possibly what made her change, because she’d seen a few glimpses of softness in Kara, so she couldn’t be that coldblooded. Lena asked after taking a sip from her glass.

“How does Kara choose who becomes a soldat? There aren’t many of you, and by what I saw in the conference room, all of you are in charge of something different.”

“Yes, we have various skills, but specialize on something. Kara picked me because of my business knowledge. I went to her just before I became a Junior VP in a previous company, I was having trouble making meets end every month, among other things. She helped me, and not much after, she recruited me as a Soldat. She told me that my knowledge could help her change National City, so that no one would go through what I went through, and I agreed to help.” Sam took a sip of her wine and continued “Alex is our medical expert, that’s why she’s in charge of anything medicine related, even if her PhD is in another area. But Alex is happy to help, especially in the hospital we have. Then there’s J’onn, you have not met him yet, but he’s is our main tactician; he’s the head of our precinct, but usually leads any operation that requires subtlety.”

“Like the one Kara mentioned about the girls?”

“Exactly. He led that one. Of course, Kara was there in the front lines too. Most of the time she lets J’onn make the decisions in any ongoing operation; unless there’s something she’s truly against.”

“Has it happened?”

“Yeah, and it was not pretty. Kara was hurt, and J’onn regretted every second of it.”

Lena froze for a moment; she didn’t know why but the idea of Kara being hurt made her heart ache. She ignored the feeling and asked.

“What about the others?”

“Winn is our tech and engineer expert. You saw the ‘injecti-nator’, that’s just one of all the things he’s got to make. He made most of our firewalls and security system too, also some of our gadgets are his inventions. Lucy is the one in charge of any legal stuff, but maybe you deduced that by her codename. She’s one of the best, and if anyone wants to come at us with legal mumbo-jumbo, we call her. She’s won various cases for some people in our community.”

“They weren’t at the meeting, though. Was there a reason to that?”

“Lucy only comes to the Fortress when we ask her to, otherwise she continues with her normal job as a lawyer, but right now she had a case in Metropolis, so she’s there. And Winn was in one of our warehouses, so he couldn’t make it back on time. But it’s imperative that they attend a meeting when Kara orders it, even if it’s on video conference. Alex was checking things in our hospital when Kara called for the meeting; fortunately, today was just a standard visit.”

“You seem to know Alex’s schedule, any reason to that?” asked Lena in a teasing tone.

“Well… um, you see, I might be dating with her?” replied Sam with a blush in her cheeks.

“WHAT?! Why didn’t you tell me about it?! Since when?!” exclaimed Lena.

“It’s all new, we started going out just four months ago. But apparently, we’ve been pining on each other for over a year. Nia was relieved to see some progress, she said she was just about to lock us on Kelly’s office to have a couple’s session.”

“Well, I’m happy for you Sam, even if I’d wanted you to tell me sooner.” said Lena placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“Thank you, Lena.”

“But if Alex hurts you in any way, I’m kicking her ass.”

“Good to know you’re on my side. It was not pretty when Kara gave me the shovel talk.”

“She doesn’t approve dating between the people under her charge?”

“Oh, no. She’s totally fine with that, as long as it doesn’t hinder our performance and focus. Also, we are not the only ones; Nia and Brainy are also a couple, and she’s very supportive of them.”

“Then why would she give you the shovel talk?”

“Because Alex is Kara’s sister?” replied Sam sheepishly.

“WHAT?! She’s Kara’s…” paused Lena, then shaking her head side to side she said “Of course, Alex Danvers, how did I miss the connection?” looking at Sam smugly Lena continued “So…you’re banging the sister of a powerful gang leader, should I be worried about this kink of yours?”

“So crass, Lena!!”

Lena laughed at Sam’s expense for a minute. Sam couldn’t help but join her. Once their laughs subsided, Lena looked at Sam, and taking her hand said.

“I still stand by what I said. I don’t care if she’s the sister of a gang leader, if she hurts you or breaks your heart, there will be hell to pay. You deserve to be happy, Sam.”

“I appreciate it, Lena. You’ve always had my back. But I’m really happy now. She’s very kind and caring. Plus, she’s great with Ruby.”

“Well, she’s just gained points in her favor.”

After a minute of silence, Lena asked.

“What about Nia, Brainy and Kelly?”

“Nia is our main researcher, writer and works closely with Brainy in logistics. She’s very hardworking, and empathetic, particularly with those targeted by prejudice and hate, like our girls. She personally asked Kara to let her be the head of that area. There’s been a lot of improvement since she took lead of it. She’s also the creator of our newsletter. And Brainy works all the logistics for the RedK, and I mean it, ALL of them. He’s the one in charge of probability and statistics too. Any project, mission, whatever we are planning to do, we run it by Brainy and he gives us all the data, and he’s always ready to give recommendations on how to increase the success rate.”

“Then, why did he do all the process for my biometrics, it’s not his area at all.”

“Brainy works in a bit of everything, he’s super smart, so sometimes he works with Alex, others with Winn, or Kara, or anyone, really. Alex would have been the one to do the biometrics, but since she wasn’t at the Fortress, Brainy is more than capable to handle it. And with the ‘injecti-nator’ the process is easier.” Sam took the bottle to refill her glass “Lastly, Kelly. She came to the hospital one day and offered her services for anyone who needed therapy and counseling. She became an official member after a very small group was rescued and she immediately offered to take the case. She joined thanks to Alex and Nia, whom vouched for her; they were witnesses of her work firsthand, and how good it did.”

“I see that Kara sure knows what to look for when choosing all of you. She’s covered a lot of ground with her Soldats.”

“It’s been a long way, but Kara is not stopping yet. She knows there’s still a lot to do.”

“Truthfully, I can’t imagine what I can bring to the table. You’ve got all types of specialists, yet Kara said I could help, I just don’t see how.”

“Maybe tomorrow you could ask her yourself. I’m sure it’s a question she’ll be happy to answer.”

“You’re not just saying that to avoid answering yourself, are you?” asked Lena with doubt.

“I’m not. Girl scout’s honor.” replied Sam making a gesture with her hand.

“You were never a girl scout.”

“Details. Anyhow… I guess I’ll tell you about your rank now.”

“I don’t get it, you and I are both Soldats, how is my rank any different than yours?” asked Lena puzzled.

At Brainy’s lab, he had mentioned it, and now that she thought carefully about it, during the meeting, when Kara had given her her codename, she heard some gasps, but she didn’t think much about it then.

“You’re like Soldat number one now.” began to explain Sam “And it was all because of what Kara did at the meeting. She was the one who gave you your code name. She’s never done that before, not even with Alex.”

“But why was it different for me? How do you know it’s a big deal?”

“Lena. I’ve been in almost every Soldat ceremony and Kara has never, ever offered to bestow a name on someone. When Nia joined, she didn’t know what to pick, and Kara gave her time to decide; once she was ready, she realized the official ceremony. I asked Alex about it, and Kara believes that giving a name is a powerful thing. She feels that to name something is to acknowledge its existence, that to name is to pay attention, is a marker of individuality, to transform its strangeness into familiarity. So, for her to give a name is a very close and personal matter of huge importance.”

“I’m important to her how? I mean, she said we could help the city together, so, it’s more like a partnership thing? Like I scratch your back I scratch yours, right?”

“Remember what I said to her what I took you to her at the Chinese restaurant?” at Lena’s silence, she continued “That she’s always said how the Luthors were wasting your talent, and how undeserving they were of you sharing their name. Many times she’s ranted to some of us about it.”

“Well, honestly, that brings up more questions than answers.” sighed Lena, drinking the last of her wine.

“Another thing you can ask her tomorrow.” Sam faced Lena and with a serious tone she said “Really, Lena. Take this chance to ask everything you want or need to know, not only about the RedK, but also about Kara.”

“She won’t point me with her gun if I ask something off limits, right?”

“I seriously doubt it. Now that you’re a Soldat and part of the family, the worst that could happen is that you get scolded like a disobedient child.”

“Is there anything you can tell me about Kara?”

“Loyalty is quite important to her. She’s unbelievably loyal to a fault; be it to a person, to an ideal, to a cause. Once she believes in someone or something, it’s like she gets tunnel vision, nothing can make her change her mind; which I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing. And as Ruby told you, she keeps her promises. She won’t lie to you by promising something she won’t do; she’ll tell you upfront she can’t do that promise. Also, I won’t deny that she’s ruthless, but only to those that deserve it. She doesn’t take a life carelessly, even if she gives that impression.”

“You said that Alex is Kara’s sister, but I don’t see much of a resemblance there. Anything else you may know about her family?”

“No. And Alex won’t tell me much about it either. Kara doesn’t speak much about her past with any of us Soldats. You can try and ask her, but I don’t know if she’ll tell you anything.” shrugged Sam.

After a minute of contemplation, Lena placed her now empty glass on the coffee table in front of her, bid Sam a good night and thanked her for everything she’d done and retired to the guest room.

Sam had certainly told her as much as she could about Kara and the RedK, but there was still so much she wanted to know. She couldn’t comprehend what pushed her to try to unravel the enigma that was the mafia leader. Was it mere curiosity? Was it something deeper? She felt a pull towards Kara. She’d never felt this feeling before, at least not with a person, and it was nagging to a point. She didn’t know how to proceed; it was uncharted territory to her. Thanks to her family – who always taught her that creating connections that were not for business or to get some benefit were a waste of time – now she was quite socially and emotionally inept. Despite this inconvenience, she’ll just have to plan on the go, and once she had a better panorama of the situation, she’ll adjust accordingly. She’ll take this as if it was a chess match. Once the board was set with all its pieces in position, she’ll take her next move. So, she planned to learn as much as she could at her lunch with Kara tomorrow.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x END OF FLASHBACK x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lena was wearing a three-piece suit for her meeting with Kara. When she woke up that morning, Sam had informed her the time and place for the lunch, however, she’d also informed Lena that Kara had commanded that she wore a dress, preferably a black one; it had to be classy too. Once Lena heard the requirement, she felt her blood boil. Who did Kara think she was?! I mean, yeah, technically Kara was now her tynth, and she should comply to what she said, to what she ordered. But this?! It was simply unacceptable. It sounded like something a chauvinistic man would say to a woman. Obviously, her pride refused to abide by that order; hence, she did the most reasonable thing she could do. She took her most impeccable power suit, paired with the appropriate jewelry which included her new watch, shoes and make-up – she loved how the dark shade of lipstick made her feel more empowered – and went to the lunch dressed that way. She was quite sure she heard Sam make a surprised squeak before they left.

Sam looked at her watch and said.

“It’s time. Better go in, or Kara will get mad; she doesn’t appreciate tardiness.”

“Neither do I.” looking at Sam, Lena asked “I guess I’ll call you once it’s over?”

“Don’t worry, most likely Kara will do that. Good luck, Lena.”

“Thank you, Sam.”

Lena took a deep breath to summon strength and focus – just as she did whenever she had a board meeting at L-Corp –, pushing the door open, she entered the restaurant.

Just like the restaurant before, no other patrons were around. There was a bigger difference this time though, she couldn’t see anyone else inside besides some of the staff and a person seated in the farthest table. Even from this distance, she could distinguish the blond hair. Kara was seated alone on a table big enough to sit six people. She sat right in the middle, two chairs vacant, one on each side of her, and three others in front. This time there was no CatCo magazine drawing the interest of the mafia leader. Kara’s focus was on a tablet, where she was typing on a small keyboard it had. Lena power walked to where Kara was and drank in her image.

Today, Kara was wearing a striped dark grey suit – the jacket was resting on the back of a chair – with a white shirt, the sleeves this time were not rolled up, and Lena could notice cuff-links on them. The cuff-link had a design of a diamond with an ‘S’ inside, it was the same design as the hidden button in her own watch. Kara was not wearing a tie this time, but she was wearing suspenders. It complimented her outfit nicely, and if Lena was sincere – she was not – the sight was causing her legs to become jelly. Even with the sleeves of her shirt rolled down, Lena could still notice Kara’s arm muscles. Heavens! This woman would be the end of her. How dare she be this attractive!

The moment Lena reached Kara’s table, the mafia leader raised her head and looked at Lena, giving her an almost imperceptible smile.

“Good afternoon, Lena. Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you.” replied Lena seating in front of Kara.

“Would you mind if we order now? That way the staff can leave us alone and there won’t be any interruptions.” asked Kara, folding her tablet and placing it aside.

“It’s fine.”

With a hand movement, Kara summoned a waitress and both placed their order, along with a bottle of wine for Lena and a couple of sodas and mineral water for Kara. The waitress opened the bottle and served Lena a glass, then she served her soda to Kara. The waitress left and promised to return with her dishes in a few minutes.

Lena picked her glass and sipped her wine, tasting the dry yet sweet flavor of it. She saw Kara sipping her own soda and asked.

“Not a wine fan?”

“Not a fan of alcohol in general. I drink sometimes, but I don’t really enjoy it. I’ve yet to find an alcoholic beverage I like.”

“Well, that’s surprising.”

“Why?”

“I really had a different image of you in my head.”

“Ah, I see. You probably thought I’d carry a flask on a pocket inside my jacket. That I’d be smoking a cigar at every meal. Or that my fingers would be full of gold and diamond rings, perhaps?” smirked Kara while wiggling her fingers.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Sad to disappoint you, I’ve got nothing of that. I hope it isn’t a problem, to crush your expectations that way, I mean.” said Kara in a teasing tone.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. In fact, this style suits you better.” teased Lena back raising an eyebrow at Kara.

_‘What are you doing, Lena?! Are you flirting back with Kara?’ thought Lena to herself ‘You should be angry at her for her orders! Commanding you to wear a dress!! The gall of her!! But it’d be better to confront her about it once we are completely alone. Yes, I’ll do that.’_

And as if the universe was listening to her thoughts, the waitress arrived and placed their meals in front of them, leaving them alone but letting Kara know that she could summon her at any moment with a small call button she left at the edge of the table. Kara and Lena thanked her before the waitress left.

Once they were completely alone, Lena took her chance and started the conversation.

“I’d say sorry for crushing your expectations today too, but I’m not.”

Kara looked at Lena, raising her eyebrows, her cheeks puffed with food. Lena couldn’t help but think that she looked charming at the moment, even when she was sure she was about to unleash a demon with her next words.

“Uh? What do you mean?” asked Kara after swallowing her food.

“For not wearing a dress as you ordered.” replied Lena raising her chin in defiance. “I’m sure you’re disappointed and annoyed.”

Kara stared at Lena for a moment and then let out a laugh. It was not a condescending laugh; it was an amused and joyful laugh.

“Oh, Lena. I’m not disappointed. On the contrary, I’m very, very pleased.” Kara’s gaze moved up and down, taking in Lena’s outfit “I’m not going to lie, I’d have loved to see you in a dress, but this was a nice surprise. And in fact, I’m satisfied with your decision.”

Lena was taken aback by the comment. She was expecting a full outburst filled with rage and derogatory remarks demeaning her; Kara yelling at her compelling full obedience at whatever order she gave no matter how small, or else. Simply put, she anticipated a reaction very much identical to what the Luthors did to her whenever she dared to raise her voice or rebel to what they said.

The shock in Lena’s face must have been noticeable, because Kara asked.

“Did you think I’d be mad about it? Like, go berserk and turn a table at your disobedience? Scream at your face, perhaps?”

“I…yes. I really thought you’d do that. I’m quite astonished you’re not doing anything to me right now. I mean, you’re my tynth now, and as a Soldat I should obey, right?”

“Lena, I might be ruthless, but I’m not as frivolous to get mad at this type of stuff. Also, I’ll be honest with you; asking you to wear a dress was a test.” replied Kara while taking another bite of her food.

“A test?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to confirm that you’re as daring as I knew you’d be.” Kara reclined back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her “You are bold, Lena, and I admire that. You have to face many people who look down on you simply for being a woman in a position of power. People call you a bitch just for having the courage to call others on their bullshit; and when you succeed, they’ll say you’re too cocky. Maybe people will even say that you’re tramping around to get what you want, entirely ignoring your effort; the tears, the sweat, the blood you’ve put into every little idea and project you want to make true to turn your life and name around in order to help others. Me ordering you to wear something and reacting in a disdainful manner would have just proved that I’m not any better that all the people you know, trying to control you, and that would have impacted the way you see me and think about me. Am I wrong?”

Lena was once again rendered speechless in front of Kara. Everything Kara just said described exactly what Lena had felt every single year she spent under the roof of the Luthors house and under their rule. Also, it felt as if the words came from personal experience. Surely Kara didn’t get her position as tynth by being all sunshine and rainbows. This gave pause for Lena to start asking Kara what Sam couldn’t answer the night before. Maybe, she’ll get her answers this time.

“Sam said that you’ve always complained that the Luthors were wasting my potential. Truth be told, I’m surprised you’d talk about me, considering that I always thought you felt the same way about us, about being enemies, I mean. Why would you advocate for me like that? You barely know me.”

“From every paper I read and research I found from you, I could see your potential, Lena. You’re just like a diamond in the rough among them. Like a rare and beautiful wild flower, growing in the shade of the weeds. I bet Lex wished he could have even half of your intellect, and quarter of your looks.” said Kara grinning charmingly at Lena “They hindered your capabilities with all their nonsense rules, typical of a high social family, belittling you for not being the perfect doll they could showcase and parade around to their whims. Not to say they didn’t allow you to continue with your own researches, they rather have you focusing on plans that are so short-sighted even a mole would feel ashamed, all so you wouldn’t steal the spotlight from dear and beloved Lex. Some of your researches could have changed many things by now, but your family couldn’t have that. They prefer to try to control everything in a barbaric way, the fools.”

“Control in a barbaric way? What do you mean?” asked Lena with interest.

“Why do you think I’m so in control of the RedK turf? Why do you think people are loyal to me and our family? Sure, I rule with an iron fist when it’s needed, but I give people what they’ve always asked for; basic needs. I provide them with housing, schooling, jobs, medical care, security, freedom and more. They know that no one here goes to bed hungry, or worrying if they’ll meet ends by the end of the month after getting a medicine they need.” Kara uncrossed her arms and rested her elbows on the table, intertwining her hands and resting her chin on them “That way is how you get loyalty, control, and peace, Lena. Not by governing them with incommensurate injustice and terror that only creates unsatisfied individuals that will snap at any minute, filled with rage at you for giving them a living hell; which is the way Lex and Lillian, and their followers like Lord and Lockwood just to name some, keep things going for them. By stepping on others first, and then giving them a ‘helping hand’ so they’ll feel grateful and lucky that a mighty one looked over them to pull them out of their misery. As I said, barbaric.”

Kara finished with almost a snarl. Lena could see the hatred in her eyes at these people, people like her. People up in the social ladder that did everything for themselves and never thinking about the others. Kara must have seen something in her to not labeling her in the same category, and she needed to know what it was that made Kara differently of her.

“You’ve read part of my research then? And how do you know I’m different from them?”

“Of course, I have, almost all of it. How could I not? It was fascinating, even if it’s not completely my area of expertise. You are focusing on real issues, and want to solve them from all sides. It was sad to see how Jack Spheer couldn’t handle the one of the nanobots and tried to distribute them despite not being completed, if only he had not tried to keep things hidden by silencing ex-employees.” said Kara sighing “Anyhow, thanks to it I knew you were different from your family. You wanted to save people, Lena. You wanted to make their lives better. That’s a big thing in my books. Also, I saw how you gave more funds to the hospital and expanded the children’s wing, among other charity work you’ve done. Contrary to other people that enjoy philanthropy just for the sake of a good article and picture narrating how caring they are, you truly did it out of kindness. Because you know that helping the public it’s the correct thing to do.”

“I see you read the article about Jack.” murmured Lena, playing with her fingers Lena continued “It was a very cherished project I had to give up when the Luthors summoned me back to the company. I really thought Jack would be able to make it work. Even if he’s gone now, I can start working on it again, and it might be thanks to you.” finished Lena with a small smile.

After a small moment of silence, it registered on Lena’s brain. Something Kara said just now, and that certainly wasn’t written in the article that exposed the truth about the nanobots.

“Wait a second. What did you say about Jack silencing ex-employees?” asked Lena, clear confusion in her voice “The article about Jack never mentioned any of that.”

“Oh, yes. He was completely desperate to try to get a deal for the nanobots distribution that he took care of a couple whistle-blowers that would have ruined his company.”

“How do you know about this?” Lena’s eyes staring right at Kara, demanding a response.

“Can’t you guess?”

It didn’t take much thinking for Lena to find the answer.

“You…you disclosed the information to The Daily Planet on Metropolis. You are the unknown source.”

“That’s correct, Lena. I was interested in the research due to its potential and because you started it back then, unfortunately, once I started to dig deeper on it, I found the truth that Jack so badly wanted to keep buried. I personally went to one of his conferences, and that’s when I met with one of the whistle-blowers, it was by mere coincidence since he was the one who approached me and told me all about the research he did at the company, and how his warnings regarding the use of the nanobots in humans were discarded. Days later, as I found more evidence of Mr. Spheer’s unethical practices, I received the news that both of the whistle-blowers were found dead.” Kara took her tablet and opened a couple of files, handing the tablet to Lena. It was information about Jack, the CFO of his company and the two whistle-blowers “As soon as I knew about the deaths of the whistle-blowers, I collected the evidence I had and contacted Lois Lane from The Daily Planet. Lois did the rest, and the article made it first page in less than a week.”

Lena read all the data shown in the tablet. It was startling to see all the details that Kara was able to gather; even when she got Jack’s research after his death, it didn’t contain all this detailed information. It’s as if most of it had been hidden after she acquired Jack’s research, also, it looked like the article published by the Daily Planet didn’t contain all the data Kara had gathered. She voiced these thoughts to Kara.

“There’s much more information in this file compared to what the article published. Why wouldn’t you disclose all of it?”

“Good observation.” Kara took a sip of her soda “As with any business deal or situation in life, you need to have an ace under your sleeve, or in crude terms, leverage. But mostly, I didn’t want to compromise you in the acquisition and development of Mr. Spheer’s research. According to Brainy, there was a high probability that people would show distrust at the use of the nanobots in the future if all the evidence I found was published, not mattering if the nanobots were completely cleared and safe for its use. I know how important this project was to you, and I didn’t want to see it dragged to the ground just because someone took bad decisions and handled it incorrectly.”

“But, withholding information isn’t against your creed?”

“I’m not harming anyone by doing so. If anything, it would have done more harm than justice by me releasing ALL I discovered about it, Brainy ran the probabilities. Besides, I handled the problem at the time, so the research could be retaken and reworked to fulfill its original purpose. That’s the main objective.”

“When you said you handled the problem…did you do something to Jack?” asked Lena, her voice breaking a little, dreading the answer. She was not sure if she would be able to forgive Kara if her answer was affirmative.

“I swear to you, I did nothing to Mr. Spheer. His demise really was the result of experimenting on himself; his body was already compromised with the behavior of the nanobots, which helped his CFO to deal with him easily.”

“His CFO was responsible of Jack’s death!? Why wasn’t it shown in the news? Is she a fugitive?” asked Lena standing up while placing her hands on the table, as if ready to bolt from the place to deal with that scum of a woman herself.

“His CFO apparently wanted to get hold of Mr. Spheer’s company, so she reprogrammed the nanobots to kill him. With him gone, she’d become the CEO, and she wanted to use the nanobots in a different way, basically bastardizing the project.” Kara smiled at Lena, that satisfied smile that also showed a tint of wickedness “And the reason you didn’t hear it in the news is because I said I handled it.”

At hearing those words, Lena sat back on her chair, taking its meaning. Kara delivered justice to Jack and their project, even if she didn’t intend to. Kara dealt with that woman to protect her turf and many others. But still, she was thankful to Kara for saving years of her work and avenging Jack for her at the end.

“Thank you, Kara. It means a lot what you did for my research and for Jack.” said Lena, gratefulness in her tone.

Kara simply nodded her head and returned to eat her meal; with Lena doing the same. They spent some minutes in silence, which surprisingly was not awkward or stressful; just enjoying the food and their company. Once Kara was done with her main course, she pressed the button to call the waitress back and ordered dessert, offering Lena some too, who gladly accepted a bit of good old fashioned and classic tiramisu. Kara grinned at Lena’s choice. When the waitress left again after refilling their glasses, Kara said.

“Now that you’re part of our family, and a Soldat nonetheless, you need extra protection, Lena. Winn will be working on making your systems at L-Corp safer and harder to access to, which also includes refurnishing your office with safer measures; like anti-bullet glass, panic buttons, and the such. Your penthouse will need it as well.”

“I’d appreciate if my office and of course some parts of my house are not totally bugged, I’d like to keep my privacy.”

“Of course, you can work with Winn on all the details. Everything will be done respecting your requests, also we don’t want to draw more attention doing big and noticeable changes, it’d look suspicious.”

“Agreed. Is that why I’m staying with Sam?”

“Yes. It wouldn’t be strange for you to stay with her after what happened. And it’s safer than staying at a Hotel somewhere else in the city. Even if we have people infiltrated around the city, we rather not risk your well-being.”

“How long will it take for everything to be ready?”

“Mmhhh…not more than a week. Winn works fast, and with the technology you already have, there’s not much installation to do, which is easier for him. In fact, he’s nerding so much at your systems.” said Kara with a bit of amusement in her voice “It’ll be hard to pull him out from your server rooms and labs. He’s fascinated with what he’s seen so far.”

“The feeling is mutual; I’d like to spend more time at the labs at the Fortress when the opportunity arises. I’d like to see what other projects you have. I was only able to see the solar battery the other day, and Brainy told me that I’ll be in charge of the nanobots division.”

“Ah, I see Brainy beat me to it. I planned to tell you today about it.” Kara paused when the waitress came back and placed their desserts at the table. After asking if they needed anything else, and receiving a negative answer, she left them alone again. “You’ll be able to create your own team to work with you in the nanobots research; although, Alex, Winn, Brainy and I had already chosen some interns that we believe would drive forward the investigation with your leadership. You can meet with them today if you want, they are already on standby and ready to be paged at any minute.”

“I’d like to read the information of all your interns first, therefore I can see if the ones you choose coincide with the ones I selected. Then I’d like to meet with them tomorrow.”

Kara smirked at Lena, which caused Lena to raise an eyebrow in questioning.

“Did I say something you found humorous?”

“Quite daring of you to boss me around, even though I’m the boss here. You didn’t even ask if I agreed or gave you authorization to do it.”

“You got a problem with that?”

“Not at all. I enjoy it greatly, it’s exciting.” Kara grinned her charming smile at Lena “I knew you’d be an asset to our zrhythrev.”

Lena felt how her body betrayed her right in that moment. Kara’s words and attractive smile made her shiver in delight, she felt a fire start to form in her lower regions and expand through her body. It’s been a while since she had felt this magnetism towards someone. Lena wasn’t certain on what it was about Kara that fascinated her and made her want to know more about her. Peal her layers – and she wasn’t talking just about the physical ones (her clothes) – and get to know what made Kara who she is. This thought led her to voice her next question.

“Kara, what made you create the RedK?”

At that, Kara swallowed the bite of her dessert and raising her gaze, stared at Lena in contemplation. As if debating to ignore her question or spill her deepest secrets. A minute passed, but it felt like an eternity when finally, Kara spoke.

“I will tell you, Lena. But not now and definitely not here.”

“When then? Don’t you think I deserve to know now that I’m part of it?”

“In a week’s time, when your penthouse is ready. I imagined you’d prefer a more intimate space where you’d feel in control, rather than having that conversation at my place. But of course, the choice is yours.”

Those words always had a different meaning for Lena, and it usually didn’t end well. For her it always meant that there was always a threat disguised as an option, and if she didn’t do what she was told, the consequences would be severe despite being given a warning. After all, her family always liked to keep her in line in every matter, ‘every choice’ she took had already been picked for her, and she just had to keep her head down and accept it. She had the guts to be defiant once as a child; the outcome was so distressing she still carried the trauma of it even to this day. But with the passing of the years, her skin grew thicker, her walls taller, and her will stronger, to the point that she was able to get away from her family, even if it was for a short time. In the end, it paid off, she got enough courage to testify and put ‘her family’ behind bars. And now, Kara was praising her boldness, even though she didn’t know everything about her.

When Kara noticed Lena’s hesitation, she said.

“Before you answer, Lena, I want to remind you something.”

Oh, here it goes, the same speech Lex or Lillian always gave her to deter any attempt at rebelling.

“You will always have a voice here to make a choice. You always will have a choice, Lena. One that you elected yourself and no one else. On this, you have my word.”

Lena’s world came to halt in that moment. Her eyes wide open in disbelief, her mouth opening and closing, unable to form words. Kara Zor-El Danvers so far had given her two things she had wanted the most in her life. She had given her the opportunity to help and bring change.

But most importantly, for once in her life, Lena was given a voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of trouble with this chapter, I wanted to reveal more about Kara but I thought it could be done in another chapter. Still, I hope you enjoyed this one.  
> And sorry to all the Kelly/Alex shippers. I decided to go with Sam/Alex on this one. Not that I don't support Alex with Kelly; the writing just flowed naturally with Sam here. Also, is more like a background thing, it won't be exploited much. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.   
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comments. Also let me know if you want me to add a tag.   
> With the holidays approaching, I'll try to update faster, no promises though.   
> I have another work published it you want to go and check it out. 
> 
> Happy holidays to everyone, be it Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah and others. I hope you have a good time.   
> Stay safe!


	6. Canta per me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena prepares to receive Kara.   
> They talk privately while playing chess.  
> Lena learns about Kara's past.   
> Lena makes a vow to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New year, New chapter and even new story!  
> I apologize for the long wait.  
> At long last, Kara talks about her past with Lena.   
> Read the notes at the end!
> 
> Not beta-ed, all errors and typos are my own. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_When Kara noticed Lena’s hesitation, she said._

_“Before you answer, Lena, I want to remind you something.”_

_Oh, here it goes, the same speech Lex or Lillian always gave her to deter any attempt at rebelling._

_“You will always have a voice here to make a choice. You always will have a choice, Lena. One that you elected yourself and no one else. On this, you have my word.”_

_Lena’s world came to halt in that moment. Her eyes wide open in disbelief, her mouth opening and closing, unable to form words. Kara Zor-El Danvers so far had given her two things she had wanted the most in her life. She had given her the opportunity to help and bring change._

_But most importantly, for once in her life, Lena was given a voice._

* * *

Lena was sitting at her desk in her newly renovated office at L-Corp. Just as Kara had said, Winn had consulted with Lena all the modifications he planned and waited for her approval or any changes required to meet Lena’s standards and requests. While Winn worked with other people from RedK at Lena’s office, she had been working from Sam’s house most of the time. Sometimes going to The Fortress to supervise her main project, which was the nanobots one. She never went alone, Sam was always escorting her whenever she went to RedK territory, at least until Lena became familiar with the place and she could navigate the turf on her own.

Her lunch with Kara had been almost a week ago, and she still couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in that period of time, especially her views regarding the RedK leader. After their lunch, Kara had driven back to The Fortress with Lena, in order to hand her a personalized device for Lena’s use where she could access to the information of the interns and select the ones she wanted to work with. The tablet also contained information about other projects the RedK was currently working on, discarded ones, and future ones. As a Soldat, her device had information not only about what happened at The Fortress but about everything going on in their turf and around the city. That way anyone could make suggestions or give ideas on how to tackle the problems they were dealing with.

Thanks to it, she could see how everyone worked in their specific fields. She even got to know that Kara was familiar with people from other important companies, like Palmer Tech or STAR Labs. Luthor Corp was never able to make any contract with either; both companies stated they didn’t share Luthor Corp’s visions. In simple terms it meant they didn’t want to have anything to do with it. It was understandable, if they had done any type of association, they would’ve been dragged to the ground when Lex and Lillian were sent to prison.

Now, though? Things were different. Lena was now the CEO of the new L-Corp, which meant she could talk to them and start working on new ways to help society. And with Kara’s support backing her up, she was sure they wouldn’t refuse as they did with Lex.

Lena had assembled a team for the nanobots project in no time, and surprisingly, she didn’t do many changes to the team Kara had picked for her beforehand, she just made one or two additions to it. It was clear that Kara really knew her people, which was quite an impressive feat. The number of people employed at The Fortress was impressive, and for Kara to remember most of them was commendable. Lena herself tried to do the same once she took over Luthor Corp, she still had a way to go, but her employees noticed the change, and were grateful.

As Lena tried to work on an ongoing project – key word being tried – she couldn’t help but chastise herself for her decision back at the restaurant with Kara; when the tynth had given her the choice on when and where to speak with her privately. She had chosen the option to talk in a week’s time, which now that she thought about it, had been a foolish choice. If anything, she had said that just to test Kara’s words, to see how real her statement was when she’d say that Lena’s choices would be the ones she elected herself and no one else, that her voice would be heard. So, of course, she picked a week’s time. She really expected Kara to say something belittling her, or retaliate a day or two after, but she’d done nothing of the sort. If anything, she’d been very polite to her the rest of the meal and offered to drive her back to The Fortress after informing Sam.

Why was it a foolish decision? Well, with Kara’s fierce display of power and acceptance, her panties were ruined, completely sodden, and if she had chosen to go to Kara’s apartment that night, she would’ve climbed the mafia leader with no reservations, and would’ve sated the thirst she had felt for the rest of the day – and night –. However, now that she thought about it, maybe that wouldn’t have been a good choice either, no matter how much she was lusting. She couldn’t deny that she’d started to feel an attraction towards Kara, but she didn’t want to make things awkward between them when they had just started to talk to each other; and most importantly, she didn’t want whatever what she was feeling to be a fling or a one-night stand. Besides, she didn’t know if Kara even felt some interest towards her that was not work related. She hoped she’d get to learn more about her during their private talk; and Lena swore to herself that if she found any sign that Kara might see her more than a ‘business partner’, she wouldn’t snuff the flame neither sabotage herself at a chance with Kara.

Lena glanced at the clock on the screen corner and saw it was almost time for lunch. Seeing that she was not getting anything done with her mind rushing straight to the gutter most of the time, she decided to call Sam and grab something to eat. After placing their orders on an app in her phone, Sam walked into Lena’s office after informing Jess to let them know when their lunch arrived.

Once inside, Sam went to take a seat on the couch, while Lena did the same, removing her heels and folding her legs to rest them under her while sitting on the side opposite to Sam. Upon seeing the movement, Sam asked.

“Rough day, uh?”

“My mind refuses to cooperate with me and concentrate.” sighed Lena, resting her head on the backrest.

“Something worrying you?”

“Not worrying. It’s more like anxiousness for tomorrow.”

“Wait. Hold that thought.” said Sam gesturing Lena with a hand and standing up.

Going to Lena’s desk, she pressed something on the desk and the windows started to tint into a dark shade. Lena watched with interest the process. It was the same that happened at the board room back in The Fortress when she was welcomed as a Soldat. Once the windows were completely tinted, Sam went back to the couch.

“There! Now we can talk freely.”

“What did you do?”

“It’s a little something Kara likes to include as a security measure. It looks like a simple shading for the windows, but when it’s activated it blocks any foreign signal from going out or coming in, in case that someone might be listening. Only our devices would work in these conditions.”

“If it’s not activated someone could have spied on my conversations these past days? I had protocols already for that, Sam.”

“It’s very unlikely that it happened. Especially with all the improvements Winn did. He simply pumped up your security. But with this, it is an extra safety measure. It’d be impossible to hear from the outside with any device.”

“I remember that the boardroom at The Fortress had it too.”

“Yeah. The whole upper levels have it. Our homes and cars as well.”

“Wow. Kara doesn’t leave anything to chance, does she?”

“She wants to protect us. She understands the dangers working with her puts us in. As much as she wants to change the city, she doesn’t want to see us hurt just because we are on her team.”

“Have any of you been harmed due to it?” asked Lena, fearing for Ruby’s safety. She was an innocent child after all.

“Yeah, but he’s not with the family anymore. He wanted to be a hero by doing things more actively, so he went against Kara’s orders a couple of times; and that drew unwanted attention to him, which ended in him getting hurt. Badly.” Sam shifted in her seat and looked at Lena “He is Kelly’s brother. He was a Soldat too. But after he defied Kara and accused her of wanting to have the spotlight at saving the city, among other things, she kicked him out of the family once he was recovered from his wounds, and revoked his Soldat position despite being old friends. Although, Kara made it quite clear that if he showed his face at RedK territory, he could consider himself a dead man.”

“Doesn’t that strain Kelly’s position as Soldat and her relationship with everyone?”

“Not at all. Kara understands that Kelly is her own person and her relation with his brother shouldn’t dictate how she is seen or treated. Kelly was not the one who wronged Kara, and Kelly knows what his brother did, so it’s all good.” explained Sam. “If Kara didn’t believe this, you wouldn’t be here, you know? You’re another fine example of this.”

“I guess that’s true. Many people wouldn’t come near a Luthor within a ten-foot pole.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore, at least not in our ‘vrrosh’. I’ve seen how your team at The Fortress are delighted to be under your guidance.”

“What word did you just say? Rosh...something?”

“Ah! ‘Vrrosh’, it means zone or territory. You’ve heard some of them already. We use them to avoid being obvious about certain things, but our people would know what we are talking about. Kara is the one who has taught us all of them.”

“I guess I’ll ask her to teach me all of them tomorrow.”

“Right! You were anxious about it. May I ask why?”

A knock on the door interrupted them, Jess voice coming from the other side of the door. Lena told Jess she could come in. The assistant entered the office carrying a couple of paper bags containing the lunch they’d ordered. Jess asked the women if there was anything else she could do for them. Lena told her to not transfer any calls or allow entrance to anyone, as she didn’t want to be interrupted while having lunch with Sam.

“Understood, Ms. Luthor.”

“Thank you, Jess.”

Jess left the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Sam asked.

“I thought you were on a first name basis with her.”

“We are. I guess she felt the need to be professional with you here. You’re the CFO, after all.”

“I see. We’ll have to fix that soon.” opening a bag an taking the meals, she placed one in front of Lena and took one for herself. “So, will you tell me why you feel anxious about your meeting with Kara tomorrow? I thought that your lunch with her last week had gone well?”

“It went better than I expected it would go. Once again she showed me that the image I had of her was so wrong. My family really made her look like a monster.” said Lena opening the container with her lunch. Ah. Nothing like a kale salad to keep the hunger at bay.

“I get what you’re saying. When I arranged to meet with her for the first time, I was shaking, I thought she’d make me sign a contract with my blood or something. She proved me wrong, she was so understanding of my situation; and has helped us since then. She’s been so kind to Ruby, too. One Christmas she got her a framed signed jersey of the USA and Japanese female soccer teams. Ruby loved them.” said Sam with a smile on her lips.

“I guess my mind is unconsciously waiting for Kara to act the way my family always depicted her, even when she has showed me she’s nothing of the sort.” said Lena after eating some salad “I’ve never felt so validated in my life, Sam. And I can feel that she is not just saying it because she needs something from me, she really believes I’m important, that I’m worth something.”

“Kara is that way, she’s painfully honest, even with stuff that is harsh to hear. Maybe that’s why she’s a good tynth.”

“Was it a good idea to talk with her at my place, though? I mean, the other times we’ve talked, it’s been in a space she selected. She told me that this time she wanted me to feel comfortable in a space where I’d be in control.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? She’s giving you power, Lena. It might look like a small detail but she wants you to be at ease when talking with her about heavy stuff, and most importantly, she’s trusting you with her safety. I think that’s a great deal, don’t you think?”

Lena paused for a moment to think about what Sam just said. It was true. All the other times, Kara had asked to be met in a place where she was in control. This time she was handing Lena that power, something that wasn’t given to her straightforwardly; Lex, Lillian, some of her past love interests, they always wanted to be in control. Even at L-Corp, she’d had to pry the control of her own company from the bony hands of the pompous old men that still remained at the board; she had to fight for it, over and over again. And here, Kara was giving it out as if it was a piece of candy; she was bestowing it without doubts, without a catch. Well, since she was being given this privilege, she’d take full advantage of it during her reunion with Kara.

“It was hard to see it that way, since I’m used to fight for it. Thank you, Sam. I feel better now.” said Lena smiling at her friend.

“No problem, Lena. You know I’m here to listen when you need it.” replied Sam taking Lena’s hand and giving her an encouraging squeeze.

Lena returned the gesture with another smile of her own.

They continued their lunch with small talk, once they were done, Sam showed Lena the touch panel on her desk to activate or deactivate the ‘voi’ mode or safe mode for her office, and then left. With a full stomach and a clear head, Lena continued working, not feeling anxiousness anymore and instead feeling more calm for her meeting with Kara the following night. She’d have to buy some beverages that Kara would like, considering her apartment only had wine and scotch. Maybe she’d get something with alcohol that Kara would enjoy. Although, she’ll have to be cautious, she wouldn’t want to get Kara drunk by mistake, since she didn’t know if the tynth herself knew her alcohol tolerance.

Strange. Now she was really looking forward to have Kara over. She just hoped that everything went smoothly.

* * *

The next day saw Lena working at a quick pace, she finished all her paperwork after lunch, and she had no meetings or calls to make left. Her meeting with Kara would be until the evening, still, she wanted it to go perfectly. She wanted to impress the mafia leader with a home cooked meal. She couldn’t cook much, but what she could do might be enough for Kara. After witnessing how much she liked to eat, she thought it would be a good way to be on her good graces, not that she wasn’t already, but it didn’t hurt to gain more brownie points.

With this idea in mind, Lena informed Jess that she would be leaving early so she could leave as well at any moment. Jess didn’t find it odd, Lena liked to work personal projects she had so it wasn’t strange for her to leave early sometimes. Jess simply wished her a good day and continued her work, adjusting Lena’s schedule for the next day so she could leave too.

Lena dismissed her driver as well and took one of her cars she always had in the basement of the company. She wasn’t that much of a fan of driving, but she couldn’t deny the thrill she sometimes felt at driving such wonderful vehicles. She drove to a well-stocked supermarket that had quite a variety of European imports. She went around the supermarket getting all the ingredients to make an Irish stew and some soda bread. While she was away from the Luthors, she had taken some cooking courses, but she had specially tried to reconnect with her Irish origins, something Lillian had always been against. It was like she wanted to completely erase that part of Lena; the past that Lillian permanently felt ashamed about. Even if Lena couldn’t remember much about it now, she refused to let it go, so she had taken to cook from time to time some traditional dishes, as well as enjoy some sweets from the Emerald Island.

To drink she picked a couple of Irish beers and ciders, she also got some soft drinks too. Maybe Kara had not tried some of the brands she was getting; but she had a hunch that Kara might like them. She picked some cookies and chocolates as well. Kara definitely looked the type to have a sweet tooth; it would be the most logical conclusion after seeing her eat six cannoli during their lunch. Lena also bought some candies for herself; she would indulge in this small treat as it was a special occasion. She also might use them as comfort food in case her dinner with Kara ended in a disaster, she just hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

Soon enough, she was paying all her purchases, placing them on the trunk of her car and speeding to her apartment. Upon arriving, she changed her work clothes for something more comfortable and appropriate to cook. Tying up an apron she began to prepare the dough for the soda bread, shaping it, she got it ready to bake. She’d put it on the oven when she changed her clothes for the dinner, that way the bread would be warm when Kara arrived. Lena then took all the ingredients for the stew and chopped the carrots and potatoes, after some minutes she mixed all the ingredients in a medium pot and left it on the stove.

With the stew on the stove, Lena went to prepare the table. Taking out a nice set of plates, glasses and silverware. If the set happened to be the ‘Solo Lando’ collection, it was mere coincidence; there weren’t many opportunities for her to use it, especially since she skipped lunch or dined outside. Besides, the golden touches and art deco style made it look classy enough. Lena decided to avoid the candlesticks, she didn’t want to give Kara the idea that this was a romantic dinner or something of the sort; at least not yet.

Time flew by and Lena went to take a shower, but not before placing the bread on the oven. She’d take it out after her shower. Lena would have preferred to relax and take a bath, but she was a bit on a rush, so maybe, depending on how things ended tonight, she might take one after her dinner with Kara. Once she was done with her shower, she went to her walk-in closet to pick her outfit for the evening. After pondering it for some minutes, she decided to go with a dress this time; it felt like the best option.

Lena picked a red sleeveless dress. The neckline wasn’t too low, but it showed her collarbones and just a tad bit of shoulder, and it reached just above her knees. It wasn’t the most modest dress nor it was the most revealing, but it really showed off her figure; and matched with her golden long earrings, bracelet and black heels it made her look fabulous.

With her hair up in a bun and after applying just a bit of makeup, Lena went to the kitchen to take the bread out from the oven. As she was placing the tray on the kitchen counter to let it cool, Lena heard an incoming message notification in her phone. It was almost time for Kara to arrive, so maybe it was her. After removing the oven mittens, she picked up her phone and read the message.

‘Please, allow entrance for Linda Lee.’

“What?”

Just as she was about to reply, the intercom for her penthouse ringed. Lena went to answer it. On the other end, she could hear the voice of the doorman.

“I apologize for interrupting your evening, Ms. Luthor. A woman is asking for you, a business associate, Linda Lee?”

Lena’s brain went into CEO mode, with quick thinking she answered, her voice full of confidence and authority, yet remaining polite. 

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry for not informing you beforehand, she should be allowed entrance at any moment if she comes, please.”

With this she assured that they wouldn’t call her anymore if future visits happened, which would avoid raising any suspicion. It wasn’t strange for Lena to receive people at her home; granted, it was mostly Sam with Ruby, and Jess; although she had a hunch that ‘Linda Lee’ would become a frequent visitor.

“Understood, Ms. Luthor.”

Once the call disconnected, Lena rechecked her makeup and hair in a small mirror she had near the door. In no time, the doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath, Lena approached the door, opening it. What she saw there was quite unanticipated. In front of her was a black-haired woman with blue eyes. She was wearing black fitting trousers, black shoes, a white shirt, a dark red vest and over it a short black trench coat. The woman smirked and said.

“Good evening, Lena.”

The blue eyes were a right giveaway, but the voice just confirmed it, this was none other than Kara Zor-El Danvers.

“Good evening, please, come in.” replied Lena gesturing for Kara to enter.

Lena deliberately didn’t use Kara’s name as a precaution, and Kara seemed to notice if the small smile was something to go by. With the door closed, both women walked to the living room; Kara removed her trench coat and placed it on the backrest of the couch while Lena activated the ‘voi’ mode. At nigh time the shades didn’t get a darker tone, in was almost imperceptible, it worked similarly to a one-way glass; which right now came quite in handy, considering the guest she had over.

“So, Linda Lee?”

“It’s the alias I use whenever I move around and out the city for certain activities.” said Kara removing the wig she was wearing and placing it on the couch too “It would be beyond stupid of me to go to other sectors not concealing my identity, it would put the people I might spoke with as risk, and that is unacceptable.”

Lena remembered Sam’s words at lunch, how everything Kara did was for other’s protection, but it made her wonder, what did Kara do to protect herself? Who protected Kara?

“I understand. That’s very considerate of you, and it really suits you. If I didn’t know it was you, I would have been startled by the appearance of a stranger at my door.”

“Ah, the message gave me away, then?”

“Not only the message.”

“Oh? Then what did?” asked Kara with interest.

“Your eyes.” replied Lena, a bit stunned at her frankness “It’s an unusual shade of blue, one you can’t forget.”

Kara smiled curiously at Lena, taking in her words; delighted at what the CEO had said. She could tease her about this statement, but frankly, she didn’t want to tease Lena that much, at least not yet. The evening was just starting, and even if they talked about heavy topics, she was sure she could throw her charm here and there during their dinner. Smiling at Lena, she said.

“I see. Good thing that most of the time I’m wearing shades.” looking at Lena up and down Kara continued “You’re wearing a dress this time. I guess the wait did pay off, to have this mesmerizing sight for my eyes only. You look stunning, Lena.”

Lena’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink at the compliment. She did dress to impress Kara; she could only wonder what Kara’s reaction would be if she had picked her black dress. Maybe in the future she’d get to see it.

“You look very handsome too, even if it’s a bit different from what I’ve seen you wear before.” complimented Lena.

“Oh? So, you do pay attention to what I wear. I’ll have to keep that in mind.” teased Kara. “I do too with you as well. I’m happy to see you picked red this time, we match.”

“Kara Zor-El Danvers, you are a massive tease.” said Lena arching her brow. Walking to the table she prepared, she asked “Is it okay if we start our dinner? The taste will be better while it’s warm and recently done.”

“Of course. There are few things I enjoy more than a hot meal.” replied Kara following Lena.

“Those being…?”

“Wouldn’t you like to find out?” smirked Kara.

“Blame it to my inquisitive and scientific nature.” teased Lena back. “Please, sit. I’ll bring everything.”

“Let me grab the drinks then. What do you have?”

“I thought you’d like to try something different, see if we can find something with alcohol that you might like. So, I got some Irish beers and ciders; in case you don’t enjoy any of them, I also got some sodas.” replied Lena while serving the stew.

Kara opened the fridge and looked at the beverages.

“What will you have?”

“I’ll have a beer. I think you may enjoy ciders best, so maybe you could try it first.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your suggestion.”

Kara then proceeded to take a beer for Lena, a cider and a soda that had an orange color and a blue label for herself, and took them to the table.

Lena placed all the food at the table. The soda bread was still warm, so it would go quite well with the stew. She just hoped that Kara enjoyed it too. Once the food was served, Lena sat at her chair, with Kara sitting in front of her. Kara opened the beer and served it to Lena, then she opened the cider and served it on her own glass. Before they dug into their meal, Kara raised her glass and said.

“A toast for you, Lena. For becoming part of our ‘zrhythrev’, for working to make this city a better place, and for giving me the pleasure of your company.”

Lena smiled at Kara and raised her own glass. She didn’t say anything because she wasn’t sure what to reply. Those words made an impact on her, there were very few times when she received words of appreciation. Also, she was afraid of saying something that might show Kara how she was starting to feel, especially so early in this partnership, so she kept silent but the smile never left her lips; showing Kara how grateful she was. 

Lena took a sip of her beer and saw Kara take a small sip from her glass, to then open her eyes with delight.

“It’s sweet, and it doesn’t taste like alcohol at all.”

“It depends on the brand, really. Some can be a bit bitter; others are sweet, it might also depend on the flavor too.” explained Lena, happy to see that Kara didn’t dislike the beverage.

“There are flavored?”

“Of course, the most common one would be apple; but there’s pear, berries, lime combined with different fruits. Brewers are making new combinations now a days.”

“That sounds interesting. I’ll have to search and try some of them. This is surprisingly good.” replied Kara taking another sip of her cider.

“I’m glad you like it. It looks like we found a drink with alcohol you might actually enjoy.”

“You might be right.”

Kara took the spoon and took a big bite of the stew, then taking a piece of soda bread, she soaked it a bit on the stew to then bite it too. Lena watched with fascination how Kara’s face showed more expressions at eating the dish than all the times she’d seen her; and if the moan of delight Kara made while chewing did things to Lena’s lower regions, she’d have no comments on that. She’d simply just accept that this would be a recurrent state for her whenever she was with Kara.

Once Kara swallowed, she said.

“This is one of the best dishes I’ve had in my life. I didn’t know there was a place that made food this good. Where is it located?”

“Ah, well, you see…I cooked it.” Lena said, just a speck of shyness in her voice.

“What?” said Kara taken aback by the information “You went through all the trouble to cook this delicious homemade dinner…for me?”

“It was no trouble at all. You’re my guest, and I wanted you to have a nice dinner. I’ve always thought that a homemade meal is the best one can have.” smiled Lena.

For the first time, since meeting each other, Kara’s gaze showed tenderness; the hard lines in her eyes disappeared for a minute and her face had a soft expression that Lena had never seen. In fact, she was sure that no one in the RedK had seen Kara like this, maybe not for a while, ever even. Lena believed that Kara’s features would’ve been this way if she had not become the tynth of the major criminal organization in the city. The thought made Lena’s heart ache for Kara, she wanted to see more of this Kara, if only when there were just the two of them.

“Thank you, Lena. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a meal like this. I’m grateful.” Kara soaked another piece of her bread and asked “Can you tell me more about the dish?”

“Of course. It’s nothing too fancy, just Irish stew with soda bread. Sadly, I’m not that good at cooking complicated dishes. But I indulge in Irish cuisine whenever I can.” replied Lena before eating some stew.

“Is there any reason to that? To why you cook Irish dishes?” asked Kara after another bite.

Lena stopped for a second, her glass in midair; what should she answer? Be honest and open with Kara or dodge the question entirely and redirect it to her? This was the moment of truth.

Lena considered that the best was to tell Kara the true reason for it. She was sure that contrary to Lillian, Kara wouldn’t depreciate her interests. Also, if she wanted Kara to answer her questions, she had to extend an olive branch as well. So, Lena drank a little bit more of beer and looking at Kara she said.

“I want to remember and preserve my origins.” when Lena saw that Kara tilted her head a little – very similar to a puppy – in curiosity, she continued “I was born in Ireland, and I lived there until I was four, when the Luthors adopted me. Lillian had always tried to erase that part of me, as if it was a shame to the Luthor name.”

“You are…”

“Yes, I’m adopted. Although, recently I learned that it was more of a reclaimed custody.” Lena took another drink of her beer and went on “Lionel Luthor had an affair with my birthmother, and when she died, he brought me to the States to live with him at the Luthor manor. Even if he was kind to me, he was always a detached father; at least some of my memories with him are much better than the ones I have of Lillian. And Lex’s, well, he was a good enough brother until he was not. Not that learning I was half Luthor would change anything; they were family only in appearance, never more than that, and I’d always be the bastard child.”

Kara took a couple of bites of bread and stew, and then she said.

“I can’t believe that we’d have something else in common. That you’re adopted, or sort of.” Kara locked her gaze with Lena, who was watching her with her eyes wide open, her mouth slightly ajar “It’s really a coincidence; I’m adopted too.”

There it was. The answer to one question Lena had wanted to ask Kara during this dinner, she assumed it would take more persuading to have Kara answer, but she replied willingly, and so effortlessly. As if knowing Lena’s truth made it easier to share this important piece of information from Kara’s past.

Without being prompted for more details, Kara continued on her own.

“I lost my parents when I was thirteen in an accident, or so it was what I knew at the time. My aunt Astra was busy here in National City and couldn’t take care of me. Hence, I was sent to Midvale, where I was taken in by the Danvers. I spent there most of my childhood, then I came to National City to study. After that, well, a lot happened which led me here.”

Kara’s story was vague at best, Lena wanted to know more, so she asked.

“What happened?”

“It’s kind of a heavy topic; I promise I’ll tell you but let’s just finish this wonderful meal. It’d be a shame to taint it with a sore subject.”

“Understood. Thank you, Kara.”

During the rest of the meal, they kept a light conversation, like Kara asking Lena for the recipe of the stew and the bread. Kara trying the soda she took from the fridge, which was delicious and kind of addictive; and Lena confessed that the soda was not Irish but Scottish and could even be used on some recipes that included a lot of fried goods that Lena may or may not have tried on trips she got to make. They ate some of the chocolates and other sweets Lena bought, some of them became Kara’s favorites right way. Kara also taught Lena the correct pronunciation of the words she had heard so far, the one used for family gave her the most trouble. She wondered how Kara could make those sounds; and that’s when her mind jumped straight – ha! Straight…right – to the gutter once more, imagining what other sounds Kara could make under – yes, under – different circumstances.

Once they finished, Kara helped Lena clean up the table, and surprising Lena by placing the dishes on the dishwasher. Lena expressed that it was very kind of Kara to do such gesture, at which Kara only replied that it was fair, since Lena had made a delicious meal, the least Kara could do was take care of the dishes. It was simple manners, or so Kara had said.

With that done, they both took their beverages to the living room and sat on a couch, close enough to each other but without touching, keeping that invisible gap that measured the limits between politeness and intimacy.

Kara noticed that on the coffee table there was a foldable chess board. Looking at Lena, she asked.

“Would you be up to a match while we talk?”

“You play?” asked Lena amazed.

“I know the basics, and the only who likes it is Brainy, so I don’t get to play much.” answered Kara, already opening the chess board and taking two pawns, one white and other black.

She put one on each hand, moved her hands to her back, moved the pieces from one hand to the other a couple of times, and finally moved her hands again to the front; her fists were closed around the pieces, Kara moved the fists closer to Lena, so she could pick a hand. Lena smirked and patted Kara’s right fist. Kara opened her closed fist and revealed a white piece, she handed it to Lena.

“I guess you’ll get to win.”

“Giving up already?” said Lena while raising her eyebrow.

“Of course not, but is statistically demonstrated that white has an inherent advantage.”

“Certainly. But remember that the margin is minimum, black could always strike back.”

“Indeed.” 

They started to put the pieces on the board. They decided that there would be no clock, but it wouldn’t be a match of quick chess, it was just with the purpose to make the talk that would follow less heavy. Once all pieces were set, Lena made her opening move with a pawn. Kara moved a pawn and started to talk.

“I became an orphan when I was thirteen. My parents were also trying to change what it’s now the RedK turf. One evening, we were going back home, just outside the city, when the car we were in had a malfunction and crashed, my parents died on the spot but by some miracle I survived.” Kara moved a knight after Lena made her move “My aunt Astra stayed with me at the hospital that night, and I was discharged the next day due to not having any major injuries. Less than a week later, she was dumping me with the Danvers, saying that it would be dangerous if I stayed with her, that being with the Danvers would be safer. I loved my aunt, and I trusted her; I was quite a naïve girl back then.”

Lena didn’t miss the words Kara said, ‘loved’ and ‘trusted’ when referring to her aunt. She moved another piece and continued listening to Kara’s story.

“In the beginning Alex and I were worse than oil and water. We didn’t tolerate each other, at all. That was until we lost a common friend. He was murdered, and we teamed up to solve the case that the corrupted police couldn’t do. The sheriff had killed my friend, and after we put him in jail, Alex and I became closer. We became true sisters; we had each other’s back, we told each other ‘almost’ anything, we became each other’s support.”

Lena moved another piece, thankfully, she didn’t have to look for a long time at the board, many movements were practically natural for her now; she was enthralled with Kara’s story. Kara paused to think her next move, but continued talking.

“Fast forward a couple of years, I’m studying at National City’s University, and I’m trying to find some sources for a paper, when I found some information regarding bioengineering and medicine from big pharma corporations here in the city. I was about to ignore it but while skimming the information I saw a stuff I recognized, also the article was saying that they’ve been working on it for years since they discovered it.” Kara finally moved her chess piece “The stuff I recognized was something I remembered seeing in my father’s lab, and the year they ‘discovered it’ was the year my father died.” Kara’s tone began to turn somber and irritated “The article had bothered me enough that I spent a lot of time searching for more, trying to find more clues; basically, I started a full investigation about the matter. It took me months to tie everything together after hitting so many walls, coming to dead ends, diving to the deepest corners of shady places; but at long last I found my answers. It was supposed to be a great achievement, I had done a full investigation, on my own, with my limited resources; sadly, despite being successful, I didn’t like what I found.” Kara raised her gaze to lock her with Lena’s “I found that the crash my parents died in, was not an accident. It was premeditated, someone murdered them.”

Lena couldn’t contain the gasp that left her lips, her mouth agape, her eyes opened wide like saucers. Her hand hovered over a bishop, to the move it. Kara turned her gaze to the board.

“I contacted my aunt and told her about it, then I went to tell the police so they could reopen the case. What a mistake that was. I waited for months to receive any update, but when I showed up to inquire about it, they told me the case was discarded and other rubbish I can’t even remember. My aunt also told me to just leave it as it was, that there was no point.” Kara let out a scoff “Of course, being so bullheaded as I am, I couldn’t just let it go. So once again, I started to dig to find the answer. I didn’t want to drop school so it took me longer than before to find clues, I was running on fumes while trying to balance school and continuing being a detective.”

Kara moved a rook and took Lena’s bishop. Lena quickly moved a knight back. Kara smiled at the move and became pensive again for her next move.

“Thankfully, that year I graduated, so after I received my diploma, I spent all my time investigating. I didn’t want to bother Eliza, my adoptive mother, since I was still jobless and I didn’t want to move back to Midvale while all my research was occurring here in National City; therefore, I asked my aunt Astra if I could stay with her just for a couple of months.” Kara smiled a bitter smile “Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if I had not asked to stay with her.” Kara’s bitter smile left her lips, she was frowning now, anger in her eyes and her voice “Just about three weeks of living with Astra in the south part of the city, I noticed many things around the community while doing my investigation. People were afraid, at the edge of paranoia; many were struggling with different issues, and once I had to stop a couple of tugs from hurting a teenager, he was merely a boy. When I asked who those tugs were, the boy told me they were Astra’s men.” Kara moved a bishop, and Lena took one of Kara’s pieces “I couldn’t ignore the situation, so I started to look into Astra’s business as well. It didn’t take long to find that she was the boss of the turf, going by the moniker of ‘General’. I had heard the name before, but I didn’t expect it to be Astra; when anyone spoke of ‘The General’ it was with fear, not respect.”

Kara took a sip of her soda to then move another piece, Lena paused this time to think her next move.

“I found a lot of things that Astra was doing at the turf, most of it was pretty bad. So of course, when I had discovered enough, I confronted her about it. Demanded an explanation, and I got one, along with a painful truth. The one I was originally searching for.”

_*-*-*-*-*-* FLASHBACK *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*_

_Astra was standing near a window at the living room of her house, Kara standing too not too far away._

_“How can you do this, Astra?!” screamed Kara “How can you treat the people in the community this way? They are beyond scared about you and your goons!”_

_“We do it to protect them and maintain order, Kara.”_

_“You’re not maintaining order! You’re controlling them through fear. They barely blink without dreading retribution from you. Do you think they are happy living like this?” tried to reason Kara._

_Astra turned to look at Kara and calmly said._

_“They’ll get used to it. Soon they’ll understand that we do it to protect them from the corporations around the city. They want to come here and use them; they see them as disposable, no more than lab rats.”_

_“The corporations won’t need to come. The people here will go look for them willingly! You’re pushing them away, Astra. You’re doing what you’re trying to stop.” Kara looked as Astra hopefully “Maybe, there’s someone in those corporations who can help you? If you join forces, you can do many things together, help this people.”_

_Astra looked straight at Kara to then laugh mockingly._

_“Oh, Kara, you really are your parents’ daughter. Ready to sell your people for crumbs.”_

_Kara was taken aback by Astra’s words._

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“You think your parents were perfect, the best people that ever existed; when the truth is that they were traitors to their community. Despite claiming to be the rulers of this turf, deep inside, they didn’t give a damn.”_

_“You’re lying!” said Kara through clenched teeth. “My parents were good people! They were always around helping others.”_

_“Your father was making a bioweapon for some big corporations in the city, he was planning to trade it for resources. But he never thought if the virus he was making would ever be used against us. When I asked him about it, he didn’t seem fazed at all, as if he didn’t care.” Astra walked towards Kara, but Kara moved back, away from her “And your mother, my own sister, she was ready to give some of my people to be prosecuted by the city just to get support from a security company.” Astra took a deep breath and with a loud voice said “Both of them betrayed us! They knew what could happen if they continued with their plans. All of us would’ve been doomed! The Kryptonian turf would cease to exist, so I did what I had to do.”_

_Silence filled the living room. Astra stared right at Kara, further conveying the meaning of those words. It took less than a second for Kara to connect the dots and comprehend what Astra had said. Kara’s eyes welled up with tears, a gasp leaving her lips, her heart beating madly inside her chest._

_“It was you…” whispered Kara, to then return Astra’s stare with her own, filled with hurt and anger “You caused the accident. You killed them! You almost got me killed too!”_

_“You weren’t supposed to ride with them that night. It was a miscalculation.” tried to explain Astra, just to be interrupted by Kara._

_“Oh! So that justifies it then!? In the end it didn’t matter, you kept your scheme going.” Kara turned around to pinch the bridge of her nose, taking deep breaths, when another memory came to her mind “You didn’t want me to find out, to become a nuisance to your plans, so you sent me away with the excuse that it was too dangerous for me to stay. Without me to meddle around, you could control the turf and impose your will.”_

_“You were always too smart, Kara. If you had stayed, you’d have found out the truth quite fast, and I couldn’t risk that. I feared that you’d become just like your parents, that you’d betray your people, just like they did. And now you’re proving my fears were real just by suggesting what you did.”_

_Astra moved her hand behind her back, taking a gun concealed in the belt of her pants and pointed it at Kara. Kara was rendered speechless and unable to move due to the shock more than the fear. Kara couldn’t believe what was happening. Her aunt Astra, the one who taught her the constellations at night, the one who spoiled her rotten with sweets, the one who gave her one of her most cherished belongings – a moon shaped medallion –, was pointing a gun at her._

_“Now I think it’d have been better if you had passed away with your parents that night, so I wouldn’t need to do this.”_

_Kara’s instincts of survival screamed at her, before she realized what she was doing, Kara turned around and began to run. When she was reaching the door, she heard the voice of her aunt saying._

_“I’m sorry, Kara.”_

_And then a gunshot._

_Kara was able to feel the impact of the bullet entering from her back, nonetheless adrenaline was pumping in her veins, driving her to run, to get away from there as fast as she could. Never mind the pain, the fear, the hurt – physical and emotional – and every other feeling she was having; she simply refused to die there._

_Kara felt another bullet hit her despite not hearing the gunshot. She pushed her body to move faster, but where could she go? That’s when Kara remembered that Alex had just gotten the lease for a new apartment some miles away from Astra’s house. Kara ran in the direction of Alex’s place. With each step, she felt her body feeling weaker and weaker, probably due to the blood loss, but somehow Kara knew that if she stopped, she wouldn’t be able to continue standing, much less running, so better make it to Alex’s soon._

_*-*-*-*-* End of Flashback *-*-*-*-*_

“I made it to Alex’s place, barely. After I knocked and she opened the door, I collapsed in her arms. She was horrified at seeing me bleeding out, fortunately for me, Alex got herself together and began to treat me with what she had until she could get more help. The bullets went through cleanly, not piercing any organs. One hit me in my lower back, and the other hit me on the back at the height of my chest, barely missing my heart. I was blessed by Rao that day.” said Kara lifting her shirt a little and showing the scar left by the bullet.

Lena was so stunned by Kara’s story so far and the wound, that for once, her mind couldn’t focus on the glimpse of abs her gaze caught when Kara lifted her shirt, and that now was lowering again. After gaining her senses back, Lena moved her queen piece – there weren’t many pieces left on the board for each of them –, and asked, her voice wavering a little.

“What happened after?”

“Once I regained consciousness a couple of days later, I explained to Alex everything that had transpired with Astra. She tried to reassure me that what Astra said about my parents were just lies but deep inside I knew Astra was telling the truth. Still, I needed to see it for myself. So, as soon as I was able to move again without Alex’s help, I devised a plan to get Astra’s electronics and also take care of her.”

Lena locked her eyes with Kara.

“By that you mean...?”

“Yes. I needed to stop her for good. It didn’t take long to have everything ready, so when I went to confront her again, she was surprised and annoyed at seeing me alive. We scuffled until we ended in a Mexican standoff; I was hesitant to pull the trigger, and it almost cost me my sister. Alex came running into the room in that moment, and I saw how Astra’s eyes focused on her instead of me for a second, I knew there that in order to get to me, Astra was ready to shoot Alex without any kind of remorse.” Kara moved her gaze back to the board “In an instant, I pulled the trigger, all hesitation gone. I couldn’t allow her to take someone important from me again. I saw her crumple to the floor and take her last breath as she said my name one last time. I vaguely remember feeling tears running down my cheeks, Alex trying to wipe them away to then hug me and trying to comfort me. The only thing I remember clearly is the vow I made to myself that night; I wouldn’t hesitate again when protecting those who I love and care about. Even if I have to take a life, I would shoulder the burden. Hesitation was something I couldn’t allow anymore, it almost got me and my sister killed, me twice.”

Kara moved her rook, taking Lena’s queen and placing her king on checkmate. Seeing that there was really no move left for her, Lena let out a sigh, she took her king and placed it down, accepting defeat. Kara nodded at the gesture.

“After I had calmed down a bit, I checked every inch of Astra’s house and found what she told me about my parents. It was all true, my dad was indeed creating a bioweapon, and my mom was handing Astra’s men over to the authorities. I was devastated. All my life I thought my parents were good people, trying to help others, creating a better place for everyone. And then Astra proclaimed she was doing it, when the truth was, she was just ruining everything.” Kara let out a humorless chuckle “As I read more and more, I just learned how messed up my family was; and I wondered if I would end up being the same as them.”

Kara locked eyes with Lena once more. Lena could completely relate to Kara’s words. It was a daily inner battle; one she wasn’t sure would ever end. Distress filling her being whenever she thought she’d end up being just like her fucked up family. And here, Kara was thinking exactly the same as her. It was unbelievable how much they shared in common.

Taking the last sip of her soda, Kara said.

“I knew that I didn’t want to be like them, I needed to prove it to myself and everyone else. Therefore, I left the city with the goal to learn all I required to finally give this community what they deserved; but most importantly, I needed to fix my family’s mistakes. All the wrong they did, I had to make things right. I left the city for around a year, I went to other cities and met with people that are now my friends and allies. Some of them trained me to hone my skills.”

“Do you mean Palmer Tech and STAR labs?”

“That’s correct. Although, they are not the only ones. But I guess you already knew.”

“I’m definitely curious to who else you might know. I have a feeling that your contacts might be much better than mine.”

“I suppose I could give you a name, as a token of trust.” Kara smirked at Lena “White Canary.”

The name ringed a bell in Lena’s head, she was sure she had read about it. Digging deeply in her memory, she was sure that the name belonged to a very well-known assassin in the underworld. When Lena raised her eyebrows in a gesture that clearly expressed she recognized the name, Kara simply nodded to confirm Lena’s silent question.

“When I came back, I founded the RedK and erased any trace left of the Krypton gang. My goal was to protect this community, give them what they deserved and were denied for so long. In the beginning, it wasn’t easy, they didn’t trust me, not even a speck. Some of them discovered I was the daughter and niece of the former leaders; they judged me for the past actions of my family. But once they started to see change, they began to show and give me their support. There’s still so much to do, not just for the RedK turf, but for all the city. We want it to thrive.”

Lena finished her drink and stared at Kara with awe. She could confidently say she had not stared at anyone like she was doing at Kara right now. No one had earned that kind of respect from her before. Besides respect, she saw a bit of her in Kara. The very things that made her what she is now, her foundations, were very similar if not equal to Kara’s. They were betrayed by their families, had been almost killed by them, were judged by their name, were concerned at doing the same horrendous things their families had done, but above all, they wanted to bring change.

In that moment, Lena was sure that the attraction she was starting to feel for Kara was beyond physical. If anyone could understand her, it was this amazing woman who had experienced the same as her. She felt a deeper connection with Kara now that she got to know her past. Sharing all of this information might have not been easy, so, in a gesture of gratitude, Lena took one of Kara’s hands, and giving it a squeeze, she said.

“Thank you, Kara. For sharing your past with me. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Lena. It was cathartic. It’s been a while since I told anyone, but now only you and Alex know.” Kara smiled at Lena, a true and sincere smile “Maybe one day you’ll share bits of you with me, too.”

This was the first time that Lena has ever seen Kara smiling this way, free of all burdens, absolutely genuine, her features relaxed; and it was the most beautiful thing Lena ever saw. Lena wanted to experience it again, that’s why she promised to herself to be there for Kara, in order to see that precious smile directed at her once more.

Lena promised to share more bits of herself, not that night though; the rollercoaster of emotions had been a bit too much. However, she suggested Kara to have another dinner just like this one, but with Kara hosting it the next time, and Lena sharing about her past. Also, Lena still had many questions she wanted to ask Kara.

Kara didn’t need much convincing, she quickly agreed to the idea. Despite the heaviness of the talk, she truly enjoyed herself, and spending more time with Lena was something she was not about to reject given the chance.

Upon noticing that it was almost midnight, both of them decided to call it a night, but not before scheduling the time and day for their next date. Kara stood up from the couch to put on her trench coat and wig back, to then open the door. Turning to look at Lena, Kara said.

“Thank you for the meal and the pleasant evening, Lena.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed the meal and my company. Thank you, Kara.”

“See you around. Good night.”

As Kara was about to exit, Lena called her name.

“Wait, Kara.”

“Yes?”

Lena got closer to Kara, and making use of the boldness Kara had praised her for before, Lena stood on her tiptoes and gave Kara a chaste kiss on the cheek, her lipstick leaving a mark there.

“Good night, Kara. Stay safe.”

Kara was taken aback for less than a second at the gesture, but quickly composed herself and smiled at Lena her most charming and disarming smile while trying to subdue a forming blush. Kara nodded and replied.

“You too, Lena.”

Placing the shades over her eyes, Kara left Lena’s apartment, blush now fully formed on her face and a smile on her lips.

Lena for her part, felt her heart beating like never before. It had been a daring move, but one she couldn’t hold on any longer after all that had transpired that night. Hopefully, Kara will take it the way Lena expected. She’ll have to wait for their next date and see the results.

In the meantime, Lena vowed she’ll use all her resources to help Kara, and to protect her. She’ll take the matter into her hands, and no one would stop her. Going back to her living room, she sat back on the couch, and said.

“HOPE, activate maximum levels of tracking and shield protocols for Linda Lee and Kara. Any notification regarding her should be prioritized and sent to me immediately, understood?”

“As you wish, Ms. Luthor.” replied a computerized voice.

“Oh, and Hope?”

“Yes, Ms. Luthor?”

“Erase ALL data you compiled from tonight, since the moment Linda Lee entered the building. From now on, no data of Linda Lee or Kara will be recorded neither stored. The same directives you have for me will be applied to her as well.”

“Understood, Ms. Luthor.”

“Thank you, HOPE.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year to everyone!   
> I wish everyone the best. 
> 
> I wanted to have this chapter ready before New Year, but again, I was betrayed by my mind, which decided it was a good idea to come up with ANOTHER NEW SuperCorp fic. And being the SuperCorp trash I am, I had to comply. Damn plot bunnies...
> 
> Now, for this chapter, I changed the part of who killed Astra. I was about to have Alex kill her just like in the series, but I changed my mind, and I think this works better. As it fits with what caused Kara to change so drastically. 
> 
> The "Solo Lando" plates that Lena used at the diner, are a real thing. They look pretty fancy and stylish. So, Lena here is still a geek. Bless her soul.   
> For the dishes Lena cooked, of course they are also real traditional Irish dishes. And the soda Kara drank is a favorite of mine, which is Scottish and is called IRN-BRU. 
> 
> Please go check my other two stories "Inconsolable Fracture Heart" and "Your Voice, My Melody".  
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading.  
> If I forgot to add a tag, please let me know to update them.  
> Don't forget to kudos or leave a comment. 
> 
> I'm not sure when I'll update or how many chapters will be. The only thing I know is that it won't be a long story.  
> Stay safe, everyone!  
> Peace out.


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